Israel link Defence Ministerlink Benny Gantz heads Tuesday to Moroccolink on a visitlink will “formalise” cooperationbetween the two countries, officials say, at a time when Rabat is embroiledin a standoff over Western Sahara.
The two-day trip comes less than a year after Moroccolink normalised ties with Israellink in a deal brokered by former USpresident Donald Trump’s administration.
In return, Washington recognised the North African kingdom’s sovereigntyover the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Gantz, the first Israeli defence ministerlink make an official visitlink to Moroccolink, will sign “a memorandum ofunderstanding that will outline defence cooperation between the twocountries”, his office said.
The trip aims to “set the foundation for all future security cooperationbetween Israel link and Moroccolink”, a source familiar with the visitlink told AFP.
“Until now there has been some level of cooperation, this truly formalisesit,” the source said.
Morocco link controls most of WesternSahara and considers the former Spanish colony as its sovereign territory.
Tensions have flared between Morocco linkAlgeria, which backs the Western Sahara’s Polisario Front independencemovement.
Algeria cut diplomatic ties with Moroccolink in August citing “hostile actions” –a charge denied by Rabat.
Earlier this month, Algiers accused Moroccolink of killing three Algerian civilianson a desert highway, raising fears of an escalation.
And Polisario head Brahim Ghali said last week that the movement hasdecided to step up military operations.
*- Timing ‘not coincidental’ -*
Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, an Israeli expert on Moroccolink, said the timing of Gantz’s visitlink and the signing of an MOU was not acoincidence.
“It’s possible that in the context of the Moroccan-Algerian tensions, theMoroccans were the ones who were keen on this,” he said.
“It would seem to me that the Moroccans are the ones who are keen onshowing everybody –- their own public, their Algerian rivals, the West — that they are deepening their relationship with Israellink,” said the Tel Aviv Universityprofessor.
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Morocco link and Israellink previously set up ties in 1993 butRabat broke them off at the start of the second Palestinian intifada(uprising) in 2000.
Rabat normalised ties with the Jewish state last December, shortly aftersimilar announcements by the UAE and Bahrain.
*- ‘Benefits of recalibrating -*
The US-brokered deals facilitated agreements on political, cultural andeconomic cooperation.
Last month, Israel link Ratio Petroleumannounced an agreement with Rabat on “exploration operations” off Dakhla inWestern Sahara.
Israel link defence ministry oversees allsecurity exports, with the Jewish state offering state-of-art productsranging from attack drones to the vaunted Iron Dome missile defence system.
One Israeli product, the NSO’s Pegasus spyware, has already made its way toMorocco link, according to AmnestyInternational and Paris-based organisation Forbidden Stories.
Rabat allegedly used it against French President Emmanuel Macron — a claimdenied by Morocco link which said it neverbought the software and has filed lawsuits against French media and AmnestyInternational.
A spokeswoman for Gantz would not comment on NSO or other possible defencetechnologies set to be discussed during the visitlink.
Pegasus software has also reportedly been discovered on the phones ofPalestinian officials.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to mobilise civil society,Islamists and the far-left in Morocco link,with a call for a November 29 demonstration against “creeping normalisationwith Israel link” and in support of thePalestinians.
According to Maddy-Weitzman, while Rabat has not abandoned the Palestiniancause, “there are too many other interests in play, too many other benefitsto be gained by recalibrating”.
“Most of the countries in the region just don’t want to be held hostage anymore on the issue, they want to pursue their interests as they define them,and at this point in time obviously Israellink has a lot to offer,” he said. -APP/AFP
