Morocco Threatens to Withhold Embassy in Israel Over Western Sahara Dispute

Until now, Israel has not recognized the Moroccanness of the Sahara. During a visit to Morocco in June last year, Ayelet Shaked, then Israeli Minister of the Interior, had declared to the local media that Israel recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. But the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly retracted its statement. "Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Western Sahara is a positive development," it had said.

A few weeks later, former Israeli Justice Minister Gideon Saar visited Morocco and publicly declared that the Western Sahara is part of Morocco. Once again, Israeli diplomacy reiterated its more nuanced position. However, the issue is important for Rabat, which, under the aegis of the United States, normalized its diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv in 2020 in exchange for American recognition of its sovereignty over the Sahara.

In a statement to Axios, four current and former Israeli officials said that Moroccan officials have, in recent months, demanded Israel’s official recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara every time Israeli officials have raised the issue of transforming the liaison office into an official embassy. They also reported that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that Morocco is using the issue of recognition as a pretext not to open an official embassy in Tel Aviv due to criticism in their country.

"The new government will have no problem recognizing the Western Sahara as part of Morocco," the same officials also said, stressing Netanyahu’s hopes of visiting the kingdom in the coming months.