Morocco’s $1 Billion Spy Satellite Deal with Israel Sparks Controversy

"We condemn this agreement and any agreement with the Zionist entity [...] We demand an official statement and explanations from the government," said Aziz Hanaoui, a member of the National Front against Normalization, to The New Arab. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Morocco are said to have already sealed a deal with the Israeli company for the acquisition of a spy satellite for $1 billion, revealed La Tribune this week. The president of IAI, Amir Peretz, is said to have made a trip to Morocco via a European country in recent days to sign the final agreement related to this purchase. IAI will have to deliver the satellite to Morocco in about five years. It will replace the two satellites manufactured for Morocco by Airbus: Mohammed VI-A and Mohammed VI-B.

In December 2023, Morocco had decided to entrust the manufacture of its next spy satellite to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), thus excluding the French duo Airbus Defence & Space and Thales Alenia Space (TAS) who had designed the Mohammed-VI A satellite, launched in 2017. IAI will have to manufacture the Ofek-13, the latest model launched by Israel. It is an observation satellite with a synthetic aperture radar and is equipped with very advanced capabilities. The kingdom will have to use the satellites in areas such as surveillance and climate change monitoring, agricultural use, defense, aviation, and internet access, but also for reconnaissance purposes, helping to combat illegal immigration, smuggling, crime and terrorism.

Moreover, the Moroccan Front against Normalization calls on Parliament to question the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, Nasser Bourita, about the "intentions" behind the ongoing trips of influencers and students from Rabat to Tel Aviv. This week, the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, a non-partisan think tank on foreign defense, hosted a group of Moroccan students and influencers as part of a trip sponsored by Sharaka, a youth organization that has opened offices in the Abraham Accords signatory states "to translate government agreements to the popular level." "We have sources indicating that these people (on the trip) met with Mossad agents, visited the Gaza border and expressed unwavering support for the Israeli army," added Hanaoui. According to him, the people involved should be prosecuted.