Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested on Friday (September 9th) outside the Moroccan parliament against the normalization of ties between the kingdom and Israel, after the Jewish state recalled its ambassador to Rabat as part of an investigation, have noted. AFP correspondents.
A hundred people chanted slogans against the rapprochement between Morocco and Israel, criticizing its ambassador David Govrin and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
Israel's Kan public radio reported on Monday that a Foreign Ministry delegation had been dispatched to Rabat, following accusations of sexual abuse against David Govrin.
An Israeli diplomatic source confirmed to AFP that David Govrin had been recalled for the time of an investigation, without specifying the nature.
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According to Israeli media, the diplomat faces charges of exploiting Moroccan women, sexual harassment and indecent assault.
"
Today we are in front of parliament to protest against the hideous acts
" allegedly committed by David Govrin, said Amine Abdelhamid, a pro-Palestinian activist opposed to the normalization of ties between Morocco and Israel.
"
Morocco's dignity is not for sale, normalization must stop
," he said.
Protesters burned an Israeli flag at the end of the demonstration.
Relations cut in 2000
Rabat cut ties with Israel in 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada, but in 2020 Morocco followed the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in formalizing its ties with Israel.
The US-backed deal saw Washington recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
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David Govrin, 59, served as Israel's representative in Cairo before being named ambassador to Rabat last year.
Contacted by AFP this week, the Israeli Foreign Ministry did not comment on the investigation.
There are also allegations of embezzlement and the apparent disappearance of a gift from the Moroccan monarch to celebrate Israel's Independence Day.
David Govrin is currently in Israel and assisting in the ongoing investigation, an Israeli diplomatic source said.
The Moroccan authorities have not commented on this case.