Moroccan King Mohammed VI (center) chats with Jared Kushner, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump (left) as Crown Prince Moulay Hassan (right) looks on before an Iftar meal, the evening meal when Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset, at the King Royal residence in Sale, Morocco, May 28, 2019. (Moroccan Royal Palace, via AP)
President Trump announced on Thursday that Morocco has agreed to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.
The Moroccan agreement is part of a deal that includes US recognition of disputed territory of Western Sahara as part of Morocco, Axios reported.
According to the report, negotiations on the deal began two years ago and intensified in the last few months. Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner and special envoy Avi Berkowitz conducted the negotiations with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
The agreement between Morocco and Israel will see the two countries establishing full diplomatic relations, grant joint overflight rights for airlines and establish direct flights between Tel Aviv and Rabat.
“They are going reopen their liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv immediately with the intention to open embassies. And they are going to promote economic cooperation between Israeli and Moroccan companies,” White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told Reuters.
“Today the administration has achieved another historic milestone. President Trump has brokered a peace agreement between Morocco and Israel – the fourth such agreement between Israel and an Arab/Muslim nation in four months.”
“Through this historic step, Morocco is building on its longstanding bond with the Moroccan Jewish community living in Morocco and throughout the world, including in Israel. This is a significant step forward for the people of Israel and Morocco.
“It further enhances Israel’s security, while creating opportunities for Morocco and Israel to deepen their economic ties and improve the lives of their people.”
The announcement marks the fourth Israel-Muslim agreement in four months.
Recognition of Western Sahara, a disputed territory bordering Morocco by northwest Africa, is a significant shift in US policy and a considerable diplomatic achievement for Morocco. The sparsely populated area, formerly controlled by Spain, has been embroiled for years in a territorial dispute between Morocco and Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that demands an independent state in the area.
The U.S. is now the only Western country to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Morocco and Israel will be able to gain by cooperating on security issues vis-à-vis Iran. Iran has tried to assist the Polisario Front by smuggling weapons and assisting in military training via Hezbollah fighters, causing Rabat to cut ties with Tehran in 2018.
Morocco, a country with centuries of Jewish history, has long been rumored to be ready to establish ties with Israel.
Before Israel’s establishment in 1948, Morocco was home to a large Jewish population, many of whose ancestors migrated to North Africa from Spain and Portugal during the Spanish Inquisition. Today, hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews trace their lineage to Morocco, making it one of the country’s largest sectors of Israeli society. A small community of Jews, estimated at several thousand people, continues to live in Morocco.
Morocco has for years had informal ties with Israel. They established low-level diplomatic relations during the 1990s following Israel’s interim peace accords with the Palestinians, but those ties were suspended after the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000.
Since then, the informal ties have continued, and an estimated 50,000 Israelis travel to Morocco each year on trips to learn about the Jewish community and retrace their family histories.
U.S. backing for Morocco’s Western Sahara claim has long been a rumored, but unconfirmed, bargaining chip in talk about diplomatic ties. Morocco had claimed the vast desert area as its “southern provinces” since 1975 as the Polisario Front, based in southern Algeria, wants its independence. A recent dust-up with the Polisario brought the issue back into headlines.
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