Abdelilah Benkirane, former head of the Moroccan government, denies any responsibility of the Islamist Party for Justice and Development (PJD) in the agreement to normalize diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel. He claims that it was King Mohammed VI who made this decision in the interest of the kingdom.
In the phone call he had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Wednesday, current US President Joe Biden affirmed "US support for the recent normalization of relations between Israel and countries in the Arab and Muslim world." This is reassuring for Morocco .
Israel has announced the organization of educational trips between Morocco and Israel for their students. They will allow Israeli students to learn "the great history of Morocco, from an educational and social point of view".
Abderrahim Beyyoudh, head of the Moroccan delegation on a mission in Israel, took up his duties on Tuesday in Tel Aviv. He thus becomes the 1st head of the Moroccan Liaison Office in Israel after the signing of the agreement relaunching diplomatic relations between the two countries.
David Govrin, Israel’s chargé d’affaires in Rabat, announced on Sunday, February 7, that direct flights between Morocco and Israel will be launched within two months. This will mark another step in the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Party of Justice and Development (PJD) still does not digest the normalization of diplomatic relations between Morocco and the Hebrew State. Aziz Rabbah, Minister of Energy and Mines, also a leader of the PJD, stated that he would go to Israel as a representative of the kingdom, as his position and that of the party on the subject have not changed.
While Morocco savors its diplomatic exploits, Spain fears losing its influence with its neighbor. Russia’s relations with the kingdom and the rapprochement with Israel seem not to please the Iberian officials.
During a webinar organized on Monday, ambassadors, former ministers, industrialists, consultants and experts set up a new commission aimed at boosting the Israel-France-Morocco trilateral cooperation.
The normalization of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel continues to provoke strong reactions among some Moroccans or Islamists defending the Palestinian cause. Kader Abderrahim, author of Geopolitics of Morocco, insists that "we cannot put the Palestinian issue before Moroccan national interests".
A high-level Moroccan delegation is expected in Israel in late February, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Friday during his telephone conversation with Israel’s National Security Advisor, Meir Ben Shabbat. The discussions focused on issues of common interest.
A few days after the reopening of Israel’s liaison office in Morocco , the kingdom is about to follow suit. Abderrahim Bayoud could be appointed to serve as chargé d’affaires at the head of this office.
Morocco and Israel want to strengthen their economic partnership. An agreement in this sense between the two countries should be signed in about two weeks.