Morocco has decided to abandon arrangements to host the second ministerial meeting of the Negev Forum next month over Israeli plans to build more settlements in the West Bank., according to the Times of Israel.
The summit was originally set to take place in July, following the Moroccan government’s request to postpone the meeting until after the Islamic holiday of Eid Al Adha.
The US rescheduled the conference as a result of the Israeli government’s insistence on moving forward with its settlement plans, and Morocco then announced its withdrawal from the summit organization process.
Tensions increased after Israel unveiled its plans to build more than 4,000 more illegal settlement homes in the occupied West Bank.
The Supreme Planning Council of Israel had 4,560 settlement units in various parts of the West Bank on its schedule, with 1,332 of those units up for final approval.
Israeli settlement plans are illegal under international law and impede the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Because of this, the Moroccan and American governments, along with other participating nations, were worried that these plans would impede the planned talks between Israel and Palestine.
Plans for an Israeli settlement are viewed as a barrier to additional Middle East agreements for normalization, especially those with Saudi Arabia.
However, Israel’s current far-right administration has vowed to keep populating new territory.
The meeting, which also included the foreign ministers of Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco, was postponed three times prior to its planned date of June 25.
The Negev Forum acts as a focal point for multilateral cooperation in the region on issues relating to water, security, climate change, the economy, and health.
Foreign ministers from Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco attended the inaugural Negev Forum meeting in Israel in March 2022.
The Negev conference serves as a yearly conference for normalizing relations between Israelis and Arabs and fostering their mutual collaboration in a range of areas, including security and defense.
Morocco and other Arab nations normalized their relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the contentious agreements known as the Abraham Accords, which were brokered by the US.
Palestinians denounced the agreements as a betrayal of their cause, pointing out that they rewarded Israel while it kept the West Bank under occupation and the Gaza Strip under siege.
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