A few hundred Moroccans protested Friday, September 18 in Rabat against the "
road to Arab normalization
" with Israel, in reference to the agreements signed by the Jewish state with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
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At the call of Moroccan associations, the demonstrators, armed with Palestinian flags, criticized the “
treacherous countries
” and “
their American and Zionist allies
” by demanding the “
liberation of Palestine
”.
"
We demand the criminalization of any normalization
" with the Hebrew state, also chanted the crowd, made up of left-wing associative activists and Islamist sympathizers, gathered in the center of the capital.
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed normalization agreements with Israel on Tuesday in Washington, under the leadership of US President Donald Trump.
These Arab countries are the first to recognize Israel from Egypt and Jordan, in 1979 and 1994. "
We are here to remind people that the Palestinian cause is also ours,
" Taïb Madmad, member of the AFP, told AFP. Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) present at the demonstration.
"
We also want to tell the Moroccan state that the people will never agree to be involved in the Zionist and American plans and that they will revolt if that happens,
" he said.
No relations with Israel
Allied country of the United States, Morocco does not officially maintain relations with Israel but links exist informally, in particular because of the importance of the Jewish community of Moroccan origin.
At the same time, the Palestinian cause is considered a "
national cause
" mobilizing political parties and NGOs opposed to any normalization with "
the Zionist entity
".
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Israeli media recently cited Morocco as one of the Arab countries likely to normalize their relations with Israel, even announcing the opening of a direct air link between Morocco and Israel soon.
"
This information is devoid of any foundation,
" a senior Moroccan government official told AFP who requested anonymity.
On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Rabat advocates a two-state solution with East Jerusalem "
as the capital
" of the state to which the Palestinians aspire, while opposing Israel's policy of colonization in the occupied territories.