A recent article published on Tuesday by the Atlantic Council, an American think tank specializing in international relations, ruled out the possibility of Morocco retracting from the normalization agreement with Israel in response to its atrocities on Gazans.
“Bilateral relations might traverse a period of malaise, and certain public-facing projects might even be frozen until the next Israeli government takes power, but it is highly unlikely that the kingdom will pull back from its commitments with the United States and Israel,” as highlighted in the article.
Sarah Zaaimi, the author of the article, backed up her idea with Morocco’s participation in vetoing a proposal to sever ties with Israel on November 11 at the Arab League summit in Riyadh, along with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Mauritania, Djibouti, Jordan, and Egypt.
The article further highlighted that Morocco’s foreign policy toward Israel is pragmatic, separating the country’s “religious and brotherly duty to support Palestinians” from its emphasis on “territorial integrity and economic development agenda”.
“Rabat often reiterated the importance of involving Palestinians in the Abraham Accords process while it gradually expanded the prospects of its cooperation with Israel,” noted the article.
It also mentioned that the Kingdom has been cautious in framing its agreement with Israel, referring to it as the “re-establishment of diplomatic ties” rather than normalization.
Despite Israel recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, full diplomatic representation has not been achieved, highlighted the author. “The relations between the two countries never graduated from the limited status of reopening their respective liaison offices.”
The article suggested that while there are anti-normalization voices, such as Islamist and leftist party leaders, assuming that all Moroccans share the same viewpoint is misleading.
There are anti-normalization sentiments, particularly in response to Israeli military operations in Gaza, prompting some people to join boycotts and protest movements. Yet, the Kingdom is linguistically, ethnically, and ideologically diverse, according to the article.
The author gave examples of pro-normalization individuals who take “Morocco First” and Taza before Gaza” hashtags as a way to voice their opinion on the matter.
“If one were to zoom out from the elites with internet access and social media accounts, one may very well find that a silent majority has no strong opinion on the matter,” said the author.
She further highlighted that many Moroccans might be more preoccupied with other domestic issues, including rain scarcity, teacher strikes, family code reform, and the new Pedro Sanchez government in Spain.
The article suggested that attention should be directed towards the recent escalation in the Moroccan Sahara where 4 attacks in Smarah, later claimed by the Polisario Front, could be viewed as a spillover from the Israel-Gaza conflict into North Africa.
The insurgents of the Polisario Fronh are “taking advantage of the current international momentum and mimicking Hamas-style speeches and narratives,” highlighted in the Atlantic Council article.
It also included the findings from the German newspaper Die Welt report concerning a possible Iranian attack on “the Israeli liaison office in Rabat, with Polisario as a proxy.”
While Morocco may tone down its public collaboration with Israel and the US and criticize the humanitarian situation in Gaza, it is unlikely to cut security and intelligence ties.
“This collaboration is now a matter of national security for a monarchy that’s succeeded in surviving for twelve centuries,” concluded the article.
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