Moroccan Protests Mark Two Years of Diplomatic Ties with Israel

The second anniversary of the Morocco-Israel rapprochement was marked by new demonstrations against the normalization of relations between the two countries, which took place on Saturday in 30 Moroccan cities, including Tangier, Agadir, Meknes and Rabat. Hundreds of Moroccans participated in these demonstrations organized as a sign of protest against the normalization of relations with Israel. "The people want to bring down normalization," they chanted. They also waved banners with messages of support for Palestine and waved the Palestinian flag. Images posted online also showed Israeli flags being burned during the demonstrations.

In a statement, the Moroccan Front for Support of Palestine and Against Normalization declared that these protests are the consequences of this normalization. The protesters expressed their "rejection of any form of normalization", reaffirmed their "unconditional support for the Palestinian resistance" and condemned the "haste of the government to fall into the arms of the enemy under the pretext of bartering the Palestinian question with our national issues," adds the same source. "The demonstrations were organized to show that the Palestinian cause remains in the consciousness of the Moroccan people, as demonstrated by the players of the national team during the World Cup in Qatar," said the coordinator of the Front, Tayeb Medmad, to the Al-Araby Al website.

Under the aegis of the United States, Morocco normalized its relations with Israel on December 10, 2020 in exchange for the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara. Twelve days later, the Moroccan government signed a "joint declaration" with Israel and the United States, during the first official visit of an Israeli-American delegation to Rabat.