Israel–Morocco relations

Morocco had a large Jewish population prior to Israel's establishment in 1948, and hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews have lineage that traces to Morocco.[5] Morocco was formally at war with Israel since 1948, which culminated in the 1948 riots of Oujda and Jerada against Jews.[6] This prompted Jews to flee from the country.

King of Morocco Hassan II

However, under the reign of later Moroccan King Hassan II which began in 1961, it was characterized as controversial due to Hassan II's closeness with Israel. Hassan II was found to have invited Mossad and Shin Bet agents in the Arab League conference of 1965 in Casablanca, and this was instrumental in leading to the heavy military defeats of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria by Israel in the Six-Day War.[7] Prior to the war, King Hassan II had developed a reciprocal relationship with the Israeli intelligence, who had assisted him in carrying out an operation in France to abduct and 'disappear' Mehdi Ben Barka, a Moroccan dissident and left-wing opposition leader who had been based in Paris.[8] The close relations between Israeli and Moroccan leaders have become a subject for many years even within Moroccan society.

In 1975, the outbreak of Western Sahara War prompted Morocco to seek eventual and secret aids from Israeli intelligence, who had reorganized the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and was thought to have helped building the Moroccan Western Sahara Wall, something neither Israel or Morocco acknowledge today.[9] During 1980s, Hassan II attempted to break the deadlock to recognize Israel by meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres in Rabat in 1986, but was met with backlash and protests from the Arab League and Moroccans alike, forcing Hassan II to withdraw his attempt.[10] Nonetheless, Hassan II maintained a bond with Peres, and Peres voiced his condolences when Hassan II died in 1999.[11]

King of Morocco Mohammed VI

Like late Hassan II, his son King Mohammed VI of Morocco, whose reign began in 1999, maintains this pragmatic approach and keeps the secret link between Morocco and Israel. Mohammed VI's advisor, André Azoulay, is an instrumental Jewish Moroccan who facilitated the growth of Morocco in both economic and political terms; while also maintaining good ties with Israel.[12]

Morocco also attempted to solve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict by dispatching another Jewish aide close to Israel, Sam Ben Shitrit, to solve the conflict and make peace between the two.[13]

The two countries established low-level diplomatic relations during the 1990s following Israel's interim peace accords with the Palestinians, which were suspended after the start of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000. The two countries have maintained informal ties since then, with an estimated 50,000 Israelis traveling to Morocco each year.[14]

Due to the growing anti-Iranian sentiment on both sides, as both countries have problems with the Iranian regime led by conservative Islamists, Morocco and Israel have sought to make their ties closer. Both countries participated in the US-led February 2019 Warsaw Conference, aimed to be anti-Iranian. This was followed by rumors of Morocco's attempt to normalize relations with Israel, which were caught up by protests.[15]

Visit of American-Israeli delegation to Rabat, December 2020

In January 2020, Morocco received three Israeli drones as part of a $48 million arms deal.[16]

In September 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was seeking direct flights between Rabat and Tel Aviv.[17]

On 10 December 2020, Donald Trump announced that Israel and Morocco had agreed to establish full diplomatic relations,[4] while also announcing that the United States recognized Morocco's claim over Western Sahara as Donald Trump urged the parties to "negotiate a mutually acceptable solution" using Morocco's autonomy plan as the only framework.[18] Morocco then communicated to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu its recognition of Israel.[1] On 22 December, El Al launched the first direct commercial flight between Israel and Morocco following the normalization agreement. Senior Advisor to the U.S. President Jared Kushner and Israel's National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat were among the high-level officials on board the flight.[19]