Moroccan Politician Urges King to Revoke Citizenship of Israeli-Moroccans Over Gaza Conflict

"The so-called Israelis of Moroccan origin recognize their belonging to a criminal entity and their practices against humanity," writes Malika El-Assimi, a Moroccan intellectual and member of Al-Istiqlal, a political party that is part of the current governing coalition, in a letter addressed to King Mohammed VI, calling on the sovereign to revoke the citizenship of Israeli-Moroccans due to "their contribution to war crimes". According to the official, "each of these elements could be a reason to strip them of their Moroccan nationality, which does not allow its holder to commit criminal acts or belong to the armies of a foreign country."

The former MP will add that Israel is a military entity in which there are "no civilians" and that "the so-called civilians are reserve armies and a structural component of a purely military entity". In 2020, Moroccan Jews and Jews of Moroccan descent represented about 1 million out of Israel’s total population (9.1 million).

El-Assimi also called on King Mohammed VI to sever all ties with Israel and cancel the normalization agreement signed in December 2020. This call adds to those made by Moroccans committed to the Palestinian cause after the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas in October. Al-Istiqlal, the party to which El-Assimi belongs, had in 2018 submitted to Parliament a bill aimed at criminalizing any form of normalization with Israel. But since the normalization agreements, most Moroccan political parties, including Al-Istiqlal, have avoided openly expressing their position on ties with Israel. Morocco and Israel are due to celebrate the third anniversary of their normalization agreement on December 22. The same day, local pro-Palestinian groups plan a national rally in Rabat to reiterate their call to sever all ties with Israel and close the Israeli liaison office in Rabat, reports The New Arab.