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Rabat – The news of a possible visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Morocco has created backlash among Moroccan anti-normalization movements.
“The visit would take place around March 30, right after a visit to the African country by Pope Francis,” Times of Israel reported last week.
Israeli news outlets claimed that Morocco hopes to receive support from the US government on the Western Sahara conflict.
The Moroccan government, known for its support of the Palestinian cause, has not yetcommented on the rumors. The government’s silence deepened speculations, but anti-normalization movements are already warning the government not to make a move towards normalizing diplomatic ties with Israel.
The Moroccan Observatory Against Normalization with Israel issued a press release on the issue.
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The observatory said that “the issue of the Sahara for the Zionist entity, is like a milking cow that [Israel] cannot abandon as promoted by the media to justify the ominous visit of Netanyahu (if it happens).”
The statement added that “Zionists will seek to perpetuate the Maghreb tension and inflame it.”
The secretary general of the observatory, Aziz Hanawi, told Morocco World News that those promoting a visit by Netanyahu to Morocco are trying to “convince us that it is a matter of mediation on the Sahara issue.”
Hanawi also said that the Zionist lobby is taking advantage of the Sahara issue to extort Moroccan concessions. Hanawi said that Israel wants Morocco to abandon its support for the Palestinian cause in return.
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The Moroccan government and King Mohammed VI have always expressed their full support for the Palestinian cause. King Mohammed VI also was among the first world leaders to warn the US and the United Nations after King Mohammed VIUS President Donald Trump decided to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Regarding the Western Sahara conflict, Morocco is firm that the issue must be solved within the United Nations without the interference of any country or organization, including the African Union.
The Moroccan government also said that it will accept no compromise on its sovereignty over the region.
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Moroccan officials object vociferously to any normalization of relations with Israel.
After the US decided to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018, Moroccan MPs asked for a vote on a draft bill to criminalize normalization with Israel.
“Anyone who contributes to, participates in or attempts to commit acts of normalization with Israel shall receive a sentence ranging from 2 to 5 years in prison and shall pay a fine of between MAD 100,000 and MAD 1 million.”
In 2017, the spokesperson of the Moroccan government denied the existence of trade between Morocco and Israel, emphasizing that the country “does not have any relations of any kind with Israel.”
