‘A blatant affront’: Israeli embassy upgrade angers pro-Palestine voices in Morocco

Following a meeting in New York between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita on 16 September, Morocco and Israel agreed to advance their bilateral relations, including upgrading their respective missions to embassies and appointing ambassadors.

The deal also includes two additional agreements - on investment protection and double taxation - to be finalised by the end of the year.

The move comes despite the Moroccan public’s strong support for Palestine and condemnation of the normalisation of ties with Israel, formalised by the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 under US President Donald Trump’s first term.

In a joint statement, the US, Israel and Morocco said that the new agreement “reaffirms the spirit of the Abraham Accords” and that they believe “full diplomatic, peaceful, and friendly relations between Morocco and Israel are in the common interest [...] to advance peace and unlock new opportunities for the entire region”. 

At the time Morocco inked the Abraham Accords, Morocco’s Justice and Development Party (PJD), a political movement with an Islamic reference, was in charge under Saadeddine El-Othmani. 

For its members, however, this does not contradict the party’s pro-Palestine stance.

Hassan*, an active member of PJD, told Middle East Eye: “Yes, PJD was in power when the Abraham Accords were signed, but the decision was made by the king; the head of government in Morocco does not have the power over international affairs.”

When the decision to upgrade diplomatic ties was announced last week, the government was in a caretaker phase and limited to managing current affairs, as Morocco is preparing for its general elections on 23 September.

“This makes it even clearer that the king is the one who has the power in Morocco over such matters,” Hassan said.

PJD is the only official political party in Morocco to openly denounce the news of growing ties. 

In a statement made after an urgent online meeting on 16 September, the party reiterated its “firm and unwavering stance against any form of normalisation or agreements with Israel”.

Al Adl Wal Ihsane, an Islamic movement, also released a statement condemning the deepening of ties. 

Dr Boubker El Ounkhari, general secretariat member of the political circle of the movement, told MEE: “Upgrading relations with the Zionist entity to the level of embassies and exchanging ambassadors constitutes a blatant affront to Moroccans’ sentiments and a provocation against the popular will.”

For El Ounkhari, this is the time when pressure should be placed on Israel, holding it to account for its occupation and crimes, especially in Gaza.

“Instead, the Moroccan authorities have decided to deepen relations with it and upgrade its diplomatic representation,” El Ounkhari said.

Morocco’s current governing coalition is made up of three parties: the leading National Rally of Independents (RNI), Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), and Istiqlal Party. None has publicly acknowledged the news.

Mohamed*, a member of RNI, told MEE that the immediate reaction from members within the party was marked by “a kind of rationality and calmness”. 

The RNI member said this reaction was “normal” because Moroccan-Israeli relations have “become an indivisible part of foreign policy for Moroccans since the signing in 2020”.

A PAM member stressed that the issue was sensitive at a time when Moroccans are preparing to go to the polls.

“Nobody from our party will provide comments on this deal that could be used against the party in the lead-up to elections,” they told MEE.

The Moroccan government has framed the move as a way to directly assist with aid for Palestinians. Morocco’s foreign minister told the media that despite stronger ties, “Rabat does not agree with Israel 100 percent”. 

This mirrors the narrative used when the government announced the deployment of its military to the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza under Trump’s "peace plan".

‘If normalisation is a means to serve the Palestinian cause, what results have actually been achieved for the Palestinians through it?’

- Ahmed Ouihmane, president of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalisation

Commenting on the justification, RNI member Mohamed echoed the words of the government, saying that “Morocco can use its relations with Israel as a channel of diplomatic dialogue and pressure for stopping escalation and advancing a two-state solution”.

However, he added, “Moroccan-Israeli cooperation does not automatically translate into benefits for the Palestinians.” 

Ahmed Ouihmane, member of the national secretariat of the Moroccan Working Group for Palestine and president of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalisation, called the argument “nothing but nonsense and an insult to the intelligence of the Moroccan people”.

“If normalisation is a means to serve the Palestinian cause, what results have actually been achieved for the Palestinians through it?” he told MEE.

He cited the death toll of innocent people in Palestine, especially children. The UN reported that at least 21,000 children have been killed by Israeli attacks since October 2023.

Real aid for Palestinians, Ouihmane added, would begin by “denying the Israeli war machine any form of cooperation, support or facilitation - such as allowing Moroccan ports to receive ships laden with lethal weaponry destined for the Zionist killing machine”.

Morocco has become a key transit point on the arms route that facilitates shipments of military cargo to Israel, including components of F-35 jets, which have been used in Israel’s war on Gaza.

The news arrives at a highly sensitive moment for Rabat, marked by the Ceuta migrant crisis and allegations of Moroccan involvement.

This was compounded by a major leak allegedly exposing the personal data of 70,000 Moroccan intelligence personnel, as well as a Spanish bill to grant citizenship to Sahrawis born under colonial rule in Western Sahara, all in the lead-up to Morocco's elections. 

The RNI member justified the continued relations as “foreign policy based on strategic interests, diplomacy, economics, security, energy, and benefiting from relations with the US, especially its support for the issue of the Sahara”. 

The US officially recognised Morocco’s claims of sovereignty over Western Sahara in December 2020 in exchange for the kingdom’s signing of the Abraham Accords. 

The Western Sahara issue has long shaped Morocco’s foreign policy. The kingdom remains locked in a rivalry with Algeria over the disputed territory, where Algiers backs the pro-independence Polisario Front against Morocco's claims of sovereignty.

Hassan from PJD considers Western Sahara as a core motive.

“The state has its own geopolitical calculations that drive it to make such difficult decisions, that sometimes run counter to the will of the people,” he said. 

However, for pro-Palestinian Moroccans, no justification is worthy of any ties with Israel.

“The rights of peoples are universal and a matter of principle, including the rights of Palestinians,” Hassan said.

Al Adl Wal Ihsane senior member El Ounkhari expressed deep concern over how distant Morocco’s political decisions are from the people’s will, recalling Moroccans’ repeated rejection of normalisation with Israel.

“The official process continues in the opposite direction, moving from one stage to another in deepening relations with the Zionist entity,” he said.

Since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, peaceful protests outside parliament in Rabat have been held every week. The pro-Palestine movement in Morocco is comprised of various unions, political and civil society groups. 

One of the unifying associations is the Moroccan Working Group for Palestine, where Ouihmane serves on the national secretariat. 

‘Embassies may be opened, and ambassadors exchanged, but that does not mean normalisation has become acceptable to the Moroccan people’

- Boubker El Ounkhari, Al Adl Wal Ihsane’s political circle

Ouihmane was hospitalised on 20 September in Rabat on Mohammed V Street after being physically assaulted by what he called “Zionist trolls”, who he says come from the pro-normalisation Moroccan group named “We Are All Israelis”.

The attack marked an unprecedented escalation, as the unofficial group - a loose network of pro‑Israel Moroccans that emerged after October 2023 - had until now confined its activities to online harassment, according to local sources.

“We will continue our struggle at all levels [...] our goal is to overturn the normalisation process,” he told MEE.

The demands are clear, Ouihmane stressed: “Stop the normalisation process, close the Israeli liaison office, and end all forms of cooperation with this rogue entity.” 

The group, alongside the Moroccan people, has consistently expressed their views in massive marches and rallies across the country. 

Ouihmane said the message remains the same: “Palestine is a Moroccan national cause, [...] while normalisation is a betrayal."

Speaking for the Al Adl Wal Ihsane movement, El Ounkhari noted that normalisation is not inevitable simply because the state has adopted it as an official policy. 

“Embassies may be opened, and ambassadors exchanged, but that does not mean normalisation has become acceptable to the Moroccan people. Palestine will remain present in the conscience of Moroccans,” El Ounkhari said.