Israel and Morocco have agreed to reciprocally open embassies in "a
few months,
" the Israeli
foreign minister
announced Thursday after his first visit to the kingdom since relations between the two countries normalized.
Read also: Morocco and Israel sign new cooperation agreements
"
This morning with Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, we decided to open embassies in Jerusalem and Morocco in a few months,
" Yaïr Lapid said at a press conference in Casablanca.
Fourth Arab country to renew relations
Morocco was the fourth Arab country - after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan - to normalize its relations with Israel in 2020 under the impetus of the United States, in return for American recognition of its "
sovereignty
" in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Read also: Launch of the first direct commercial line between Israel and Morocco
Lapid once again welcomed the normalization agreements with Arab countries, indicating that other countries would follow this path, without citing them, and announced the imminent opening of an Israeli embassy in Bahrain.
On the Israeli-Palestinian question, he reaffirmed his support for the creation of two states to resolve the conflict, but “
does not currently see any possibility of moving forward on this path with the current Palestinian leadership and the structure of the executive branch. 'Israel
'.
Bourita said he spoke on Wednesday about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with his Israeli counterpart, stressing the need to "
resume negotiations
" to "
reach a solution on the basis of two states
".
A liaison office and concerns about Algeria
On the other hand, Yaïr Lapid confided to having discussed with his Moroccan counterpart their “
concerns about the role played by Algeria in the region, its rapprochement with Iran and the campaign it waged against the admission of 'Israel as an observer member of the African Union
'.
Earlier today, the Israeli minister inaugurated a liaison office in Rabat before taking the road to Casablanca where he visited one of the most emblematic synagogues in the city of Beth-El.
Morocco's Jewish community is the largest in North Africa (around 3,000 people), and some 700,000 Israelis of Moroccan descent have often maintained strong ties with their country of origin.
During this visit, a letter from the Israeli President, Isaac Herzog, inviting the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, to visit Israel was delivered to the head of Moroccan diplomacy.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also invited the monarch at the end of 2020, an invitation that has remained unanswered.
A “historic” displacement
On Wednesday, the first day
of Yaïr Lapid's
“
historic
”
trip
, agreements on political consultation, culture and aviation were signed.
The two countries maintained official relations from 1993 to 2000, when the second intifada broke out in the Palestinian territories against the Israeli occupation.
The Palestinians denounced the normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries, described as "
treason
".
The United States congratulated "Morocco and Israel for the reopening of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat," wrote US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday August 12th.