A group of Moroccans organized a demonstration on Friday, September 18, to support the Palestinian cause and condemn normalization with Israel.
Dozens of Moroccans participated in the protest in front of the Moroccan Parliament in Rabat. Participants held a banner containing the slogan “Palestine is a national cause, normalization is treason.”
Several prominent Moroccan activists and politicians took part in the demonstration, including the President of the Islamic Unity and Reform Movement, Abderrahim Chikhi; the General Secretary of the Unified Socialist Party, Nabila Mounib; and the President of the Moroccan Observatory for the Fight Against Normalization, Ahmed Ouihmane.
Demonstrators carried Moroccan and Palestinian flags and shouted several slogans supporting the Palestinian cause and condemning the normalization of diplomatic ties between Arab countries and Israel.
The demonstration took place after 28 Moroccan NGOs issued a joint statement condemning the UAE and Bahrain’s “peace deal” with Israel, signed on Tuesday, September 15.
The NGOs called on Moroccans to express their disapproval of the US-mediated agreements through a demonstration in front of the Moroccan Parliament.
According to the statement, the protests aim to reject normalization with Israel and prove the attachment of Moroccans to the Palestinian cause.
“For Moroccans, the Palestinian cause is and will always be a national cause,” the document said, arguing that normalization legitimizes Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.
Moroccan activists answered the NGOs’ calls while making sure they do not violate Morocco’s state of health emergency. Photos of the demonstrations show participants wearing face masks and maintaining relatively safe distances from each other.
The demonstration is the second of its kind this week. On Tuesday, right after the UAE and Bahrain signed the normalization agreement, the Unified Socialist Party organized a symbolic demonstration, with a dozen participants, to express support for Palestinians.
