On a ministerial visit to Morocco, Israel is ‘formalising’ defence relations with Morocco.

TEL AVIV (AFP) – Benny Gantz, Israel’s defence minister, will travel to Morocco on Tuesday to “formalise” bilateral cooperation, authorities say, at a time when Rabat is mired in a dispute over Western Sahara.

The two-day trip comes less than a year after Morocco’s ties with Israel were normalised thanks to an agreement negotiated by former US President Donald Trump’s administration.

In exchange, Washington acknowledged Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed area of Western Sahara.

Gantz, the first Israeli defence minister to visit Morocco, will sign a “memorandum of understanding outlining defence cooperation between the two countries.”

According to an AFP source acquainted with the visit, the trip’s goal is to “lay the groundwork for all future security cooperation between Israel and Morocco.”

“There has always been some sort of collaboration, but this genuinely formalises it,” the person added.
Morocco controls the majority of Western Sahara and regards it as its sovereign territory.

Tensions have risen between Morocco and Algeria, which supports the Polisario Front’s independence effort in Western Sahara.
Algeria severed diplomatic ties with Morocco in August, claiming “hostile measures,” which Rabat denies.

Earlier this month, Algeria accused Morocco of murdering three Algerian civilians on a desert highway, sparking worries of escalation.

And, according to Polisario leader Brahim Ghali, the movement has chosen to increase military actions.

‘Not coincidence’ timing –

According to Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, an Israeli expert on Morocco, the timing of Gantz’s visit and the signing of the MOU was not by chance.
“It’s probable that in the context of Moroccan-Algerian tensions, the Moroccans were more interested in this,” he added.

“It appears to me that the Moroccans are focused on demonstrating everyone — their own people, their Algerian competitors, the West — that they are extending their connection with Israel,” said the Tel Aviv University professor.

Last December, Rabat normalised relations with the Jewish state, after similar declarations by the UAE and Bahrain.

‘The Advantages of Recalibrating –

Deals mediated by the United States fostered accords on political, cultural, and economic cooperation.
Ratio Petroleum, an Israeli company, inked an arrangement with Rabat last month for “exploration operations” off the coast of Dakhla in Western Sahara.

All security exports are overseen by Israel’s defence ministry, with the Jewish state supplying cutting-edge goods ranging from attack drones to the lauded Iron Dome missile defence system.

According to Amnesty International and the Paris-based institution, one Israeli device, the NSO’s Pegasus spyware, has already made its way to Morocco.

Rabat is accused of using it against French President Emmanuel Macron, an allegation Morocco denies, claiming that it never purchased the software and has initiated litigation against French media and Amnesty International.

A Gantz spokesman declined to comment on NSO or other potential defence technology to be addressed during the visit.

Pegasus malware was also found on the phones of Palestinian leaders, according to reports.

The Israeli-Palestinian issue continues to galvanise Moroccan civil society, Islamists, and the far-left, with a demand for a November 29 rally against “creeping normalisation with Israel” and in favour of Palestinians.

While Rabat has not abandoned the Palestinian cause, “there are too many other interests at stake, too many other benefits to be achieved by recalibrating,” according to Maddy-Weitzman.

“Most of the nations in the area just don’t want to be held hostage any longer on the subject; they want to pursue their interests as they define them, and certainly Israel has a lot to offer at this point in time,” he added.