Why Did Moroccans Reject ‘Israel’ Recognition of Moroccan Sovereignty Over the Sahara?

Reacting widely and indignantly, Moroccans responded to “Israel” announcement of recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, warning of the “destruction” associated with normalization and the violation of the kingdom’s “territorial integrity” issue.

The news of the announcement was reported through the official Moroccan news agency on July 17, 2023, stating that King Mohammed VI received a message from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, informing him of the Israeli Occupation’s decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.

In this regard, the same source continues to mention that Netanyahu confirmed that his “country’s position” will be reflected in all relevant actions and documents of the Israeli government.

He also emphasized that this decision would be communicated to the United Nations, regional and international organizations in which “Israel” is a member, as well as all countries having diplomatic relations with the Israeli Occupation.

In his message to King Mohammed VI, Netanyahu also informed positively about the Israeli Occupation’s consideration of opening a consulate in Dakhla, a city located in the south of the kingdom, as part of the implementation of this state decision.

 

Imminent Danger

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen, tweeted in Arabic on July 17, 2023, welcoming the announcement of “recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.” He stated that “this step will strengthen the relations between the two nations and their peoples.”

In December 2020, Morocco announced the resumption of its diplomatic relations with “Israel” and the reopening of communication offices in both countries. This decision came after their relations were cut off in 2000 due to the al-Aqsa Intifada.

However, the agreement signed at the Royal Palace in Rabat, attended by Jared Kushner, the former advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, included the U.S. recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and the opening of a consulate in Dakhla, along with investments in the region, without mentioning the Israeli Occupation’s involvement in these steps.

The Moroccan rejection of the Israeli announcement was widespread, as reflected in a statement issued by the Moroccan Observatory against Normalization on July 17, 2023.

They saw this so-called recognition by the Zionist fascist occupation of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara as the biggest blow to its justice.

The Observatory expressed strong anger at this ominous news from the head of the Zionist Israeli Occupation government, which, through its criminal terrorist leader Netanyahu, attempts to manipulate it (making it Israeli) and undermine its national justice and sovereignty.

They criticized the allocation of a statement from the Royal Office regarding “Israel’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty,” pointing out that many other countries had taken the same step.

The Observatory questioned the reason for the celebration of this Israeli decision, which is mixed with submission, as it compromises the country’s respect and reputation among nations, and it also undermines the relationship between the Moroccan people and their national institutions and causes.

The Moroccan Observatory against Normalization expressed its concern that submission and compliance to Israeli dictates will pose a serious and direct threat to national sovereignty as a whole and undermine national consensus regarding territorial unity.

Typically, when referring to “territorial unity,” Rabat alludes to the issue of the Western Sahara, which is disputed between the kingdom and the Polisario Front.

Abdelaziz Aftati, an academic and leader of the Justice and Development Party, stated that with this Israeli decision, “we are entering a stage of severe political storms.”

Aftati added that “normalization and the Zionist pandemic, in essence, will bring significant repercussions, including real threats and imminent dangers from our nation and humanity’s common enemy, the rogue terrorist entity.”

He emphasized that “the Zionist occupier is not concerned with the efforts and expectations of Moroccans from the world’s countries regarding the Western Sahara issue, including supporting Morocco in completing its territorial unity and recognizing its full and comprehensive sovereignty over all its territories, including the southern provinces.”

According to Aftati, this is because “the colonial settlement entity, based on occupation, displacement, killings, and racism, cannot support any legitimacy or right, as this aggressive entity is void and continues to negate and undermine all legitimacy and overthrow all references.”

The former parliamentarian continued, stating that “this racist entity is working tirelessly to penetrate the broad rejection wall it faces, popularly, officially, Islamically, and Arabically, as well as in other forums and strongholds in Africa, Asia, South America, and elsewhere.”

Aftati believed that “Israel” has put Morocco in “a new dilemma and great embarrassment, considering the authentic Moroccan stance in the language of the jihadist Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi, a Morocco that seeks to uphold rights for itself and all peoples, and a Morocco that resists injustice and aggression upon itself and all nations.”

He warned that “the national and historical position of Moroccans, who support and stand with their Palestinian brethren, contradicts any normalization, reconciliation, or recognition with the colonial Israeli entity.”

Aftati confirmed that “rejecting this rogue Zionist entity [“Israel”] is the solution, and supporting the rights of the Palestinian people to liberate their land, establish their state from the river to the sea, with Jerusalem as its capital, and the return of the refugees is the real alternative to the mirage of normalization and Zionism.”

The Islamic leader concluded that “the duty now is popular rejection of normalization and Zionism, and contributing to supporting the brave Palestinian resistance with what it needs to confront the Zionists.”

Aftati emphasized that this path is “the guarantor of our national rights and the rights of our Palestinian brethren simultaneously.”

 

Social Interactions

On July 17, many Moroccan activists expressed their rejection of the Israeli move through social media, emphasizing that “what is required is American recognition, not Israeli.”

In this context, Adil Sghir, the National Youth Secretary of the Justice and Development Party, stated that “if the recognition by the Zionist entity had any significant strategic value for Morocco’s interests, it would have been part of the conditions set by the Moroccan state during the signing of the tripartite agreement. It could have been a bilateral agreement without the need for America’s patronage.”

Sghir continued in a Facebook post, “However, Morocco’s condition was American recognition and the opening of an American consulate in the Moroccan Sahara, and that was the reciprocity declared to justify the agreement.”

He added, “Because America is a great and influential nation, and its recognition and consulate carry meaning. As for the Zionist entity, it is merely a rejected functional group that thrives on the sponsorship and protection of America and Western countries, and nothing fair or just can be expected from it.”

Political communication researcher, Abdel Samad Benabad, stated in a Facebook post, “Who said to the world that we want or expect Israel to recognize the Moroccan Sahara?”

He added, “What we, as Moroccans, want from America, not its tools, is the activation of recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, the opening of a consulate in Dakhla, and financial investments, as announced in the tripartite agreement.”

He concluded by saying, “Our reference is the tripartite agreement, and it speaks of America, and no one else.”

As for the anti-normalization activist Aziz Hanaoui, he stated that “the so-called message of Zionist recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara is the biggest and most dangerous poisoned dagger aimed not only at the issue of Morocco’s territorial unity but also at sabotaging the national social fabric as a whole by entangling all of Morocco in the clutches of the Zionist occupation’s institutions.”

Hanaoui emphasized that “the announcement of the Zionist recognition through the need for a Royal Office statement is a sign of confusion and an indicator of a psychological state of bewilderment, pressure, and surrender to the Zionist mood for the past 30 months.”

 

Supportive Voices

Other Moroccan voices defended the decision, stating that it holds some positives for the Sahara issue and the region.

In this regard, Hassan Derham, a businessman and political activist from the Sahara, believed that the Israeli Occupation’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara “will have significant positive implications on the relations between Rabat and Tel Aviv.”

Derham told the local website Al3omk on July 17, 2023, that this is due to the anticipated political, economic, and trade momentum, considering the strong ties between the Moroccan and Israeli peoples.

He emphasized that “Israel’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara is a serious starting point for a mutually cooperative chapter between the two countries that will deeply impact both peoples.”

However, the Moroccan Observatory against Normalization does not share Derham’s views, as it warned about the economic implications of Israeli infiltration into the Sahara.

According to the statement previously mentioned, the Observatory stated that the statements of the so-called “investors” from the Zionists and their insatiable greed to swallow the riches of the Sahara, both maritime and on land, “are not hidden from anyone.”

The same source emphasized that this “has stirred the resentment of our people in the Moroccan Sahara, provoking their anger and determination.”

The Observatory mentioned that the Israeli Occupation’s move “only confirms Tel Aviv’s ambitions, not only in the Sahara but also in penetrating Morocco, the Maghreb region, and all of Africa through its Zionist expansion, economically, militarily, and in intelligence.

“Linking the issue of our territorial unity and the matter of our Saharan regions to the extent of recognition by the Zionist occupation entity, or not, constitutes the greatest insult to the Moroccan people, the Green Popular March, and the sacrifices of our humble people’s sons in the army, who valued their lives and precious blood in the struggle for liberation.”

Morocco organized the Green March in 1975 to recover the Sahara from Spanish occupation, following a call by the late King Hassan II. Over 350,000 volunteers from various regions of the kingdom participated, heading to the Sahara carrying national flags and Qurans.