RABAT – Morocco and Israel agreed on Tuesday to immediately establish complete diplomatic relations, marking the fourth Arab-Israel agreement in four months as part of a United States-brokered normalisation deal between the two Middle Eastern nations.
Senior Advisor to US President Donald Trump Jared Kushner and Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat landed in Rabat on the first commercial flight between Israel and Morocco.
They took the El Al Israel Airlines plane from Tel Aviv to Rabat.
The duo also met Moroccan King Mohammed VI.
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His Majesty King Mohammed VI receives American-Israeli delegation. pic.twitter.com/eII8LLLGvZ
— حسن سجواني ???????? Hassan Sajwani (@HSajwanization) December 22, 2020
Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has overseen the diplomatic push that saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco normalise relations with Israel.
The declaration was signed by Morocco’s Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani, Senior Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump Jared Kushner, and Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat.
It also highlighted the U.S. recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara and its intention to open a consulate in Dakhla, to promote economic and business opportunities.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday: “This will be a very warm peace … the light of peace has never shone brighter than today in the Middle East.”
Moroccan King Mohammed VI informed Trump during a phone call on December 10 that his country “will also work on developing innovative relationships in the economic and technological fields with Israel.”
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan became the first three Arab states in a quarter of a century to agree to formal links with Israel.
Morocco is the fourth Arab nation to normalise the relationship with Israel as the administration “seeks to expand its ‘Abraham Accords’ framework, which began over the summer with an agreement between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates,” according to Israeli media.
Palestinians have condemned the deals, calling them a betrayal of a longstanding demand that Israel first meets their statehood demand.
