Rabat – Amid Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has evacuated its liaison office in Rabat, leading to the temporary closure of the office, informed sources confirmed to Morocco World News.
The Rabat liaison office’s staff flew back to Israel yesterday from the Rabat-Sale International Airport, added MWN’s sources.
However, the Spokesperson for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lior Ben Dor, has denied the closing of the Liaison office in Rabat, emphasizing that diplomatic relations between Israel and Morocco remain strong.
“The relations with Morocco are strong and solid and we didn’t close down our liaison office in Rabat,” Ben Dor said today in an exclusive statement to Morocco World News.
However, when pressed for further information regarding the relocation of the Liaison Office’s personnel in light of recent events, Ben Dor declined to provide additional details.
The Rabat Liaison Office’s evacuation comes against the backdrop of Israel’s continuous aggression in Gaza. The situation further escalated after Israeli forces bombed a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, killing 500 Palestinians, including patients and displaced individuals seeking shelter.
The merciless targeting of the Gaza hospital resulted in international condemnation and protests, even reaching Morocco’s capital where demonstrators protested the attack in front of the Parliament in Rabat.
Meanwhile, dozens of protesters in Jordan attempted to storm the Israeli embassy in the capital Amman after they set surrounding areas on fire.
Read also: Uproar Against Israel’s Deadly Attack on Gaza Hospital Amid World Failure to End Israeli Aggression
In response to the security situation, Israel’s Foreign Ministry ordered the evacuation of several other offices, including in Egypt, Israeli news outlet Ynetnews reported.
Since then, Rabat and several other Moroccan cities have seen a series of protests, with demonstrators condemning the attack on the Gaza hospital and calling for an end to Israeli aggression against Palestinians.
Protesters in Morocco have specifically called on the Moroccan government to sever diplomatic relations with Israel and close the Israeli liaison office in Rabat.
Late on Tuesday, in the immediate aftermath of the hospital blast, Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in which it strongly condemned the brutal attack and equally strongly denounced the Israeli military’s relentless raids on the besieged Gaza Strip.
In addition, the statement demanded the protection of civilians and called on the international community to unite to put an end to the violence.
While the focus has primarily been on the Israeli Liaison office in Rabat, there have been mixed reports regarding the Moroccan Liaison Office in Israel. Some sources claimed that the Moroccan Office in Israel had also evacuated the families of its employees to Morocco. However, the office later denied this report.
Meanwhile, the Office recently issued a notice urging Moroccan citizens residing in Israel to adhere to the measures taken by Israeli authorities in response to the ongoing situation.
