(Inside Arabia) Sami Erchoff - Morocco's hosting of an Israeli delegation in August, led by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, was the first high-level bilateral meeting between the two countries since 2003. Moroccan authorities have endeavored to present the normalization as a reconciliation between two natural allies due to the "Moroccanness" of so many Israelis, with over 800,000 Jews of Moroccan origin in Israel. Diplomatic normalization was simply an opportunity for the Kingdom to recognize and strengthen cooperation that has always existed and meets essential needs - primarily in the areas of health, technology, tourism, defense, and cybersecurity. Israel intervened with Pfizer so that the Kingdom could receive a shipment of two million Covid-19 vaccination doses. Even before the normalization, some 50,000-70,000 Israeli tourists of Moroccan origin visited the Kingdom every year. Yet in an opinion poll by The Arab Barometer, 59% of Moroccans say they are hostile to normalization between Morocco and Israel. Several political parties have accused the Moroccan state of betraying the Palestinian cause and collaborating with the Zionists.
2021-09-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive