(Washington Insider Magazine) – Moroccan officials are pressuring Israel to recognize Moroccan control over disputed Western Sahara, and link the establishment of a Moroccan embassy in Israel to the territory, according to a report on Wednesday.
Rabat is reportedly pressuring Jerusalem to formally recognize sovereignty over the disputed North African territory as the Foreign Ministry stands on hold.
US news outlet Axios, citing four current and former Israeli officials, said Morocco has repeatedly raised the issue in meetings with Israeli representatives in recent months.
Morocco Has Opened Liaison Offices in Israel
Morocco has opened liaison offices in Israel and has pledged to open an embassy in Tel Aviv, but every time Israeli officials raise the issue, Moroccan representatives demand formal recognition of the country’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, Axios reported. .
While some Israeli politicians have supported Morocco’s claims to Western Sahara in public statements, the Foreign Ministry has refrained from recognizing Moroccan control of the territory.
During her visit to Morocco in June, then-Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked publicly expressed Israel’s support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara for the first time.
Then-Foreign Minister Yair Lapid was more ambiguous, saying Israel would work to counter “attempts to weaken Morocco’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and calling Morocco’s “autonomy plan for Western Sahara… a positive progress”, but refrained from establishing a clear position on the matter.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also distanced itself from comments recognizing Moroccan sovereignty in the area by former Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar during his visit to Morocco in July.
Morocco Cut Ties With Israel in 2000
Morocco cut ties with Israel in 2000 after the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada, but reestablished ties two decades later in a deal in which Washington, under the Trump administration, recognized Rabat’s sovereignty over disputed Western Sahara as part of the deal. .
Morocco laid claim to Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony with rich phosphate resources and offshore fisheries, after Spain withdrew in 1975.
But the Algerian-backed Polisario Front took up arms to demand independence for the territory, proclaiming the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1976 and waging a 16-year war with Morocco.
In 2006, Morocco submitted a proposal to the UN that would give Western Sahara autonomy, while remaining a sovereign part of the kingdom.
In March, the office of King Mohamed VI of Morocco revealed that the Spanish prime minister had sent a letter endorsing the Moroccan proposal as “the most serious, realistic and credible to resolve the dispute.”
According to the report, Israel has refused to accede to Rabat’s demands, which officials believe Morocco is using to justify its delay in opening the embassy, fearing criticism at home of opening an embassy in Tel Aviv.
On the other hand, relations between Jerusalem and Rabat seem to be strengthening.
The head of the Israel Defense Forces, Aviv Kohavi, visited Morocco last week, cementing the strategic and military alliance between the Jewish state and the North African country.
His visit came after the IDF participated for the first time in a major US-led military drill held in Morocco and nearby African nations in July.
This article is originally published on enlacejudio.com.
