2020 agreement between Israel and Morocco
Israel?Morocco normalization agreement
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/American-Israeli_delegation_visit_to_Morocco%2C_December_2020_4335P_%2850749223147%29.jpg/300px-American-Israeli_delegation_visit_to_Morocco%2C_December_2020_4335P_%2850749223147%29.jpg) 22 December 2020 Joint Declaration among the Kingdom of Morocco, State of Israel, and United States of America
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Type
| Normalization agreement
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Signed
| December 22, 2020
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Location
| Rabat
,
Morocco
|
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Mediators
|
United States
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Parties
|
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The
Israel?Morocco normalization agreement
is an agreement announced by the
United States
government on December 10, 2020, in which
Israel
and
Morocco
agreed to begin normalizing relations. On December 22, 2020, a joint declaration was signed pledging to quickly begin direct flights, promote economic cooperation, reopen liaison offices and move toward "full diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations." Morocco officially recognized Israel in its communication to Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
.
The agreement followed
Bahrain
, the
United Arab Emirates
, and
Sudan
also signing normalization agreements with Israel in September and October 2020. Along with
Egypt
and
Jordan
, Morocco became the sixth
Arab League
country to normalize ties with Israel. As part of the agreement, the United States agreed to recognize Morocco's
annexation of Western Sahara
while urging the parties to "negotiate a mutually acceptable solution" using
Morocco's autonomy plan
as the only framework.
Background
[
edit
]
King of Morocco
Mohammed VI
Moroccan walls
in the territory of
Western Sahara
, during the
Western Sahara war
(1975-1991). In yellow, the territory under control by the
Polisario Front
Morocco had a large Jewish population
of about 250,000 to 350,000 Jews (10% of the population)
[1]
[2]
prior to
Israel's establishment in 1948
, and hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews have lineage that traces to Morocco.
[3]
In 2020 the Jewish population in Morocco numbered approximately 2,000.
[4]
[5]
[6]
During the 1973
Yom Kippur War
, Moroccan soldiers, of which hundreds of them were killed, formed part of the Arab expeditionary forces supplying Egypt and Syria.
[6]
The two countries have long had informal ties, establishing low-level diplomatic relations during the 1990s following Israel's
interim peace accords
with the Palestinians, which were suspended after the start of the
Al-Aqsa Intifada
in 2000. The two countries have maintained informal ties since then, with an estimated 50,000 Israelis traveling to Morocco each year.
[7]
The agreement was negotiated by a team led by
Jared Kushner
, a
Senior Advisor to the President of the United States
, and
Avi Berkowitz
, a Special Representative for International Negotiations.
[7]
Kushner and Berkowitz had been speaking with the Moroccan government for over two years, suggesting normalization of relations with Israel in exchange for US recognition of Morocco's claim to Western Sahara. When Kushner visited Morocco in May 2019, King
Mohammed VI
raised the issue of US recognition of Western Sahara, emphasizing the importance of this issue to Morocco.
[8]
A main push factor for the deal and Israel's other normalization agreements in 2020 is that it facilitates a united front against
Iran
to reduce its influence in the region.
[7]
Morocco has viewed Iran as a threat, and cut ties with the Iranian government in 2018, accusing it of funding the Western Saharan separatist movement
Polisario Front
via
Hezbollah
.
[9]
The agreement followed
Bahrain
, the
United Arab Emirates
, and
Sudan
also signing normalization agreements with Israel in September and October 2020.
[10]
Along with
Egypt
and
Jordan
, Morocco became the sixth
Arab League
country to normalise ties with Israel.
[10]
Agreement
[
edit
]
Morocco
(in dark green),
Western Sahara
(in light green) and
Israel
(within the orange circle)
Under the agreement, initially announced by the White House on 10 December 2020,
[11]
Morocco will establish full diplomatic relations and trade relations and resume official contacts with Israel, and direct flights will be made between the two countries.
[12]
Morocco officially recognized Israel in its communication to Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
.
[3]
According to Kushner: "They are going to reopen their liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv immediately with the intention to open embassies."
[13]
Minister Delegate Mohcine Jazouli of the Moroccan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
said "Judaism is embedded in Moroccan culture," and that Jewish history would "appear in school textbooks and would soon be taught."
[14]
Serge Berdugo, secretary-general of the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco, said that the decision to teach Jewish history and culture in Moroccan schools "has the impact of a tsunami; [it] is a first in the Arab world."
[2]
On December 22, 2020, Senior Advisor to the U.S. President Jared Kushner and Israel's National Security Advisor
Meir Ben-Shabbat
, whose family immigrated to Israel from Morocco, were among the high-level officials who boarded a flight from Israel to
Rabat
, Morocco, to sign a joint declaration pledging to start direct flights between the two countries, promote economic cooperation, reopen liaison offices, and move toward full diplomatic relations.
[15]
The US also agreed to recognize Morocco's
claim
to the disputed
Western Sahara
territory while urging the parties to negotiate "using
Morocco's autonomy plan
as the only framework to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution." "The US recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory and reaffirms its support for Morocco's serious, credible and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute over the Western Sahara territory,” Trump said.
[11]
[3]
Kushner called on both sides to work with the U.N. in implementing a proposal to give the people of the territory broad autonomy.
[15]
The US said it intends to open a consulate in
Dakhla
in Western Sahara.
[16]
Reactions
[
edit
]
Israel and Morocco
[
edit
]
In an address on the occasion of
Hanukkah
, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the decision, and spoke of the "tremendous friendship shown by the kings of Morocco and the people of Morocco to the Jewish community there".
[17]
Following the announcement, the Moroccan royal cabinet issued a press release regarding a phone call between King Mohammed VI and Palestinian leader
Mahmoud Abbas
.
[18]
The Moroccan government reaffirmed that its stance on the Palestine issue remained unchanged.
[19]
The religious branch of the moderate Islamist
Justice and Development Party
in government denounced the agreement,
[20]
while a group of activists planning to hold an anti-normalization protest were dispersed by Moroccan police, a move which was described by Abdessamad Fathi, president of the
Al Adl Wa Al Ihssane
-affiliated Moroccan Instance for the Support of Ummah Affairs, as evidencing that the deal was "imposed on Moroccans".
[21]
United States
[
edit
]
US Senator
Ted Cruz
(R-Texas), a member of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
, stated: "Today is a wonderful day for Morocco and Israel... I've long advocated that if the United States is unequivocal and clear that we stand with our Israeli allies and against our mutual enemies, our regional allies will come together to the benefit of our own national security and the safety of the American people."
[22]
Senator
Tom Cotton
(R-Arkansas) stated: "I commend our friend and partner, the Kingdom of Morocco, for establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. Morocco’s decision is another vital step towards peace in the Middle East and Africa."
[23]
Former Senator
Norm Coleman
(R-Minnesota) called the agreement "historic" and an "important step towards greater stability and peace in the region."
[24]
US Senator
Jim Inhofe
(R-Oklahoma) sharply criticized the Trump administration for recognizing Morocco's claim to Western Sahara. Inhofe described the decision as "shocking and deeply disappointing," adding that he was "saddened that the rights of the Western Saharan people have been traded away."
[25]
Former National Security Advisor
John Bolton
also criticized Trump for recognizing Morocco's claim, writing on
Twitter
that "Trump was wrong to abandon thirty years of US policy on Western Sahara just to score a fast foreign policy victory."
[26]
In October 2021, a draft bill of the US
Senate Committee on Appropriations
for the allocation of 2022's budget said that "none of the funds […] may be used to support the construction or operation in the Western Sahara of a United States consulate."
[27]
In December 2020,
Mike Pompeo
, Secretary of State under Trump's administration had announced the start of the process to establish one.
United Nations
[
edit
]
U.N. Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres
welcomed the agreement, but reserved judgment on the Western Sahara, according to a spokesman.
[28]
The UN said that its position on Western Sahara was "unchanged" following the US announcement, with a spokesperson of Guterres suggesting that "the solution to the question can still be found based on Security Council resolutions."
[29]
On December 21, 2020, following a closed door session of the security council, the South African ambassador said "We believe that any recognition of Western Sahara as part of Morocco is tantamount to recognizing illegality as such recognition is incompatible with international law."
[30]
Arab countries
[
edit
]
Egyptian President
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
welcomed the announcement, saying that the deal was an "important step towards more stability and regional cooperation" in the Middle East.
Abu Dhabi
's crown prince Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
wrote on Twitter: "This ... contributes to strengthening our common quest for stability, prosperity, and just and lasting peace in the region."
[13]
Bahrain
and
Oman
praised the agreement.
[31]
[32]
Tunisian Prime Minister
Hichem Mechichi
said: "We respect Morocco's choice."
[33]
Saudi Arabia
's
King Salman
said "We support the efforts of the current US administration to achieve peace in the Middle East."
[34]
Algerian
Prime Minister
Abdelaziz Djerad
expressed his country's dissatisfaction with Morocco's normalization of its relations with Israel, remarking there is "a desire to bring the Israeli and Zionist entity to our borders."
[35]
For its part, the
Movement of Society for Peace
(HAMS), the largest Islamic party in Algeria, considered the normalization of Morocco's relations with Israel as a "sinister decision", and a "threat to the
Maghreb
countries to introduce them into the cycle of unrest that was far from them, and to bring to the enemy's intrigue on our borders".
[36]
As for the U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, Algeria said it "has no legal effect because it contradicts U.N. resolutions, especially
U.N. Security Council resolutions
on Western Sahara".
[37]
Others
[
edit
]
Iran
condemned Morocco's normalization of relations with Israel. A senior Iranian official said the normalization was a "betrayal and a stab in the back of Palestinians".
[38]
Spanish
foreign affairs minister
Arancha Gonzalez Laya
said that the country welcomed the normalization of relations, but rejected the US's recognition of Morocco's claim to Western Sahara.
[29]
Russia
welcomed the restoration of diplomatic ties between the countries but condemned Trump's decision to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara, saying it breaches international law.
[38]
[39]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Stearns, Peter N. (ed.).
Encyclopedia of World History
(6th ed.). The Houghton Mifflin Company/
Bartleby.com
.
p. 966
- ^
a
b
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.
Arab News
. December 13, 2020.
- ^
a
b
c
Ray Hanania (December 10, 2020).
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.
Arab News
.
- ^
"Oujda & Djerada Victims"
.
www.sephardicgen.com
.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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2020
.
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a
b
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(December 17, 2020).
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.
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.
- ^
a
b
c
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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2020
.
- ^
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Harkov, Lahav
; Cashman, Greer Fay (December 11, 2020).
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
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a
b
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.
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- ^
a
b
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;
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; Alami, Aida; Halbfinger, David M. (December 10, 2020).
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.
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.
Archived
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- ^
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.
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.
- ^
a
b
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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.
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a
b
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.
AP News
. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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(December 11, 2020).
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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"Morocco's partial normalization with Israel comes with risks and gains"
.
Brookings
. Retrieved
November 3,
2022
.
- ^
"Moroccan Islamist groups reject normalising ties with Israel"
.
The Guardian
. December 13, 2020
. Retrieved
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2022
.
- ^
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.
Associated Press
. December 14, 2020
. Retrieved
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2022
.
- ^
"Sen. Cruz Applauds Morocco's Decision to Normalize Relations with Israel | Ted Cruz | U.S. Senator for Texas"
.
www.cruz.senate.gov
. December 10, 2020.
- ^
"Cotton Statement on Agreement Between Israel and Morocco | U.S. Senator Cotton of Arkansas"
.
www.cotton.senate.gov
.
- ^
"Jewish, pro-Israel groups react to Morocco agreeing to normalize ties with Israel"
.
B'nai B'rith International
. December 11, 2020.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
The Hill
. Retrieved
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2020
.
- ^
Verite, Clement (October 21, 2021).
"U.S. Draft budget does not include a consulate in Western Sahara"
.
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.
- ^
Lee, Matthew (December 10, 2020).
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
a
b
"
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.
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. Retrieved
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2020
.
- ^
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.
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
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.
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.
- ^
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.
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.
- ^
Harb, Ali (September 24, 2020).
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.
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.
- ^
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.
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. December 12, 2020
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"???????: ??????? ??? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??????? ??????"
.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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.
- ^
a
b
"Russia Says U.S. Backing for Moroccan Claim on Western Sahara Breaches International Law"
.
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. December 11, 2020.
- ^
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.
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. December 11, 2020
. Retrieved
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.
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[
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