Moroccan front for Palestine organizes protest against Israeli violence, as tensions rise again

The Moroccan Front for the Support of Palestine and Against Normalization and the National Action Group for Palestine are organizing a protest on Mohammed V Avenue in Rabat Today, February 1st, in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The protest comes to condemn the “daily crimes of the Zionist entity against Palestine, and the suspicious and complicit silence of the international community, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their valiant resistance to the occupation and its crimes,” says the front in a statement.

The Moroccan Front is calling for support for Palestine, and is campaigning against normalization.

The front said that it organized the protest to “collectively express the solidarity of the Moroccan people with the heroic Palestinians who are subjected to daily killings.”

The front is calling on the United Nations to “assume its responsibilities” in protecting the Palestinian people from “Israeli crimes,” and in order to confirm their rejection of the Moroccan government’s decision to normalize its relations with Israel, demanding that it cancels all agreements and sever any relations with the country and close the liaison office.

Hundreds of Moroccans protested in Casablanca and Rabat in August last year in solidarity with Gaza where violence has killed dozens of people.

In the capital, the manifestations happened right in front of the parliament where many protestors waved signs expressing their grief following the recent Gaza attacks, during which Israel bombarded Islamic Jihad positions.

While in Casablanca, activists from the “Moroccan Front to Support Palestine and Against Normalization” movement gathered in Sraghna Square.

During the protest, an Israeli flag was burned. “The people want the cancellation of normalization”, proclaimed the protesters, mostly belonging to far-left and Islamist parties.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has ebbed and flowed for decades through wars, uprisings and peace talks.

Now that Israel has normalized relations with more Arab countries, normalizing governments have maintained their support for the Palestinian people, and continued condemnation of violence.

Deadliest year for Palestinians since 2005

Tensions have risen further since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in December last year with religious nationalists in key cabinet posts, promising a tougher stance and enraging Palestinians.

After armed conflict in Jerusalem and the West Bank and a month since Israel’s most right-wing government took office, Israel and the Palestinians risk sliding into a cycle of wider confrontation with pressure on both sides for retaliation.

More than 170 Palestinians, including at least 30 children, were killed across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem last year.

In January 2023 alone, at least 29 Palestinians including five children have been killed.

The UN said that 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians since 2006, but 2023 is already on course to surpass that, if the number of deaths stay at the same level.

Israeli forces have killed nine Palestinians during a raid in the north of the occupied West Bank Friday last week, in the deadliest single day in the territory in years, prompting Palestinian militants to fire rockets from the Gaza Strip and Palestinian leaders to cut security ties with Israel.

Morocco said that it is following with great concern “the serious deterioration” of the situation in the Gaza Strip, amid a return of violent acts and rockets, leading to major death tolls and material damage.
Gaza’s health ministry said 15 children were among 44 people killed.

Strong condemnation from the UN to normalizing Arab states

Egypt brokered a truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants on Monday, raising hopes that the intense conflict that left dozens of Palestinians dead has ended.

Islamic Jihad is aligned with Hamas but often acts independently. Hamas has fought four wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, including the conflict in May last year.

Israel has said it was necessary to launch a “pre-emptive” operation against Islamic Jihad.

This comes after a resolution demanding the International Court of Justice to issue an immediate advisory opinion on Israel’s protracted occupation, settlement, and annexation of Palestinian territory was approved by the U.N. General Assembly late last month.

Israeli officials severely attacked the resolution’s approval, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it “disgraceful.”

The resolution, which was passed by an 87-26 vote with 53 abstentions, also demands an investigation into Israeli tactics “aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem,” accusing Israel of discriminatory legislation and measures.

In addition to representatives from countries like Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Cyprus, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, the letter was also signed by representatives from Arab and Islamic nations like Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.