Moroccan PM’s Hamas Praise Draws Rebuke from Israeli Diplomat

"I was surprised by the statement of the Moroccan Prime Minister, Mr. El Othmani, who supported and congratulated the terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad," reacted the head of the Israeli liaison office in Morocco, David Govrin, in a tweet on Tuesday. For him, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are "terrorist organizations supported by Iran." "Whoever supports Iran’s allies strengthens its regional influence. Is the strengthening of Iran, which sows destruction in Arab countries and supports the Polisario Front, not in contradiction with the interests of Morocco and the moderate Arab countries?" he wonders.

In a correspondence dated May 21, Saâdeddine El Othmani, Moroccan Head of Government, also Secretary General of the PJD, congratulated Ismail Haneyeh, Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, "on the occasion of the victory of the Palestinian people and their strong resistance" against "the Zionist entity." The ceasefire agreement concluded between Israel and the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip had just come into force. The two sides were engaged in an escalation of violence that lasted 11 days. The toll is over a hundred dead and several injured.

Will the act taken by the leader of the Islamist party provoke tensions between Morocco and Israel? Are we heading towards a crisis between Morocco and Israel a few months after the normalization of their relations?