Morocco Faces Backlash Over Israeli Military Participation in US-Led Exercise

The Golani infantry brigade arrived in Morocco as part of the African Lion 2025 military exercise, which started in Tunisia on April 14 and continues until May 23 in the kingdom. Images circulated on social media show soldiers posing at the exercise site, waving the Israeli flag and that of the Golani brigade, the same military unit held responsible for the massacre of ambulance workers in the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, during which 15 ambulance workers, UN workers, and first responders were killed. This was enough to provoke outrage among Moroccans.

The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, in a statement, condemned Morocco’s welcoming of the Golani Brigade, calling it "Nazi". In the organization’s view, this decision is "indicative of a continuous decline in moral and humanitarian standards in the ongoing normalization process with the Zionist entity".