Morocco-Israel Military Ties Grow, Raising Regional Security Concerns

Before their rapprochement, Morocco was already procuring weapons from Israel. According to a study on the subject published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in 2014, Rabat had purchased three "Heron" drones manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the first Israeli public aeronautics group (civil and military) for an envelope of 50 million dollars. After their rapprochement, the two countries signed a framework agreement in Rabat on November 24, 2021 during the visit of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, which notably provides for cooperation between intelligence services, the development of industrial links, the purchase of weapons and joint training.

Since then, Morocco has been multiplying its arms orders. In 2021, it acquired the "Harop" drone from IAI, as well as the Barak MX air defense system. The visit to Morocco of the Israeli Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi, carried out last July, gives a boost to the military and security cooperation between the two countries. "This visit made it possible to examine the opportunities to further develop the axes of cooperation mainly on training, technology transfer as well as on the sharing of experiences and expertise," the Moroccan general staff had also welcomed. During the discussions, the Moroccan side also expressed "its interest in jointly setting up defense industrial projects in Morocco," the general staff had specified.

At the end of June, Israeli observers traveled to Morocco, where they participated for the first time in the Moroccan-American military exercise "African Lion 2022". Recently, Moroccan military personnel participated in the International Innovation and Defense Conference held in Israel. Israel will help Morocco manufacture kamikaze drones. All these actions testify to the strengthening of military and security cooperation between the two countries.