Peace in the Middle East, and throughout the Arab World, has always been hard-won. We’ve had to measure its progress in small, deliberate steps, whether that’s from letters to handshakes, missions to embassies or treaties to trade deals.
Ever since the Abraham Accords were signed in 2020, Israel and Morocco have been solidifying their diplomatic ties in recognition of their shared interests and responsibilities to global and regional security.
But this week the two countries made a historic leap forward – a leap that should give the international community renewed confidence in the stability of the Arab World and the Middle East.
As a very welcome relief from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s significant domestic issues, the Prime Minister officially recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara and indicated that Israel would consider opening a consulate in one of the region’s key cities, Dakhla. At the invitation of King Muhammad VI, Netanyahu also agreed to conduct a state visit to Morocco in the near future – his first to any of the Arab nations involved in the Abraham Accords three years ago.
In the space of just a week, these are remarkable developments. This October, it will be just 50 years since the two countries were on either side of the Yom Kippur War – and they are now moving towards an alliance that could be critical to the stability of the entire Middle East.
The diplomatic progress between the two nations will be especially important to Morocco’s Jewish population – the largest of any Arab nation at around 2,000 people, and an ancient and officially recognised element of the nation’s ethnic and religious identity.
But on a larger scale, improved relations are a highly positive sign for Israel’s relations with the Arab world, which are indispensable to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In addition to Morocco, nations including the UAE, Sudan, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan have all sought to normalise or strengthen their diplomatic relations with Israel in the past few years, greatly enhancing the prospect of a sustainable peace throughout the Middle East.
Just as importantly, Israel’s latest move is also a vital development for the Western Sahara, a region mostly under Moroccan administrative control that has spent decades in limbo after a history of colonial rule, Cold War geopolitics and outbursts of conflict.
Israel has shown a willingness to invest in the region’s future, the security of its population and its economic potential.
Morocco has done much the same, supporting the Western Sahara’s economic development through billion-dollar infrastructure projects, new wind and solar farms generating renewable energy and a prospective new stadium in Dakhla to support Morocco’s joint 2030 World Cup bid with Spain and Portugal.
Taken together, these commitments to peace and prosperity throughout the Middle East and Arab World should be a source of real hope for the region’s future stability. However we measure each stride, we’re moving ahead – and coming ever closer to making that future a reality.
* Gavin Stollar is the Honorary Chair of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel. He is a former Parish and District Councillor, Parliamentary Candidate and parliamentary aide to Rt. Hon Charles Kennedy during his first two years as Party Leader.
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12 Comments
What Israel and Morocco have in common is that they both control territory regarded by the UN as ‘occupied’ and over which neither is willing to relinquish control. Recognising each other’s claims is an obvious step for both to take.
Gavin,
Israel is only the 2nd country to recognise Morocco’s claim to the Western Sahara after the US under the Trump administration did so. The United Nations has listed it as Non-Self-Governing Territory, and the Polisario as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. The UN has urged Morocco to join in the peace process and to terminate the occupation of the territory of the Western Sahara Question of Western Sahara
While it is good to see improving diplomatic relations between Israel and Morocco that cannot come at the expense of the right to self-determination of this former Spanish colony.
The Israeli People can apply the same reasonableness to The Palestinians or look forward to Centuries of War. Ireland should provide an example of just how long this sort of Mutual Suicide can go on or how it can be ended by painful compromise.
I see this as a welcome development. Algeria is moving ever closer to Russia China and Iran. Wagner get ever stronger in west Africa. Israel’s closer links to some of the Arab states may help to moderate some of Netanyahus excessive actions.
Good for the region surely . Israel never gets the recognition for the strong diplomatic relations they have with so many , away from the USA
Does make me think though, Would this have been done in the same way if Yair Lapid had still been in power !?
We cannot have true peace in The Holy Land until people recognise that a process of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians occurred, a) in the Nabka (catastrophe) on Israel’s foundation – without compensation, and b) on and off since leading to hundreds of illegal, Jews-or-Zionist-only colonies in the occupied Palestinian West Bank including East Jerusalem. This is blatant evidence of ethnic cleansing which is sponsored by Christian Zionists particularly in the USA who believe that the “re-Judification” of “Palestinian Zion” will pave the way for the Second Coming. (I really don’t think that Jesus could be happy with this myself, having been raised a Christian).
I’m very surprised to see @Gavin Stollar apparently endorsing the illegal occupation of the Western Sahara by Morocco. Alongside the illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories by Israel and the Russian occupation of Crimea, the Western Sahara may rank as one of the most egregious example of illegal colonisation. The European Court of Justice in 2016 ruled that occupation of Western Sahara was illegal.
This Wikipedia entry explains some of the background https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_status_of_Western_Sahara . The following extract summarises my point:
“Moroccan settlers currently make up more than two thirds of the 500,000 inhabitants of Western Sahara. Under international law, Morocco’s transfer of its own civilians into occupied territory is in direct violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (cf. Israeli and Turkish settlers).”
Perhaps @Gavin Stollar should clarify what he meant by ‘investment’ in the ‘future and security’ Israel has made in the Palestinian territories it occupies illegally?
One only has to drive around East Jerusalem and compare the areas where Palestinians live, with the illegal Israeli settlements – housing, water supply, schools, roads, pavements, rubbish collections, schools etc. Israel, as the occupier, is required to provide this and consistently fails to do so.
And let’s not even go there on the so called ‘security’ imposed by IDF on Palestinian communities, discussed at length in previous posts in LDV.
If Morocco is forced to withdraw from Western Sahara the Polisario front will take over and through their Algerian sponsors Russia and Wagner will move in. That will be a minus for everyone. We all have to face the fact that we are now unfortunately in a second cold war.
I find this article deeply disturbing. It is effectively endorsing Moroccan occupation of the Western Sahara territory. Most of the world and successive resolutions consider it occupied.
Development? Xinjiang Province is being developed. As is Tibet. But they ethnic cleansing is taking place in both of them.
As Liberals we should be no more endorsing Morocco’s dubious annexation of Western Sahara any more than we should be endorsing Putin’s annexation of Ukrainian territory.
It is worthwhile reminding ourselves the party’s policy motion, adopted in 2021, to cease trade with illegal settlements in the West Bank (https://www.libdemvoice.org/west-bank-settlements-liberal-values-and-our-israeli-sister-party-time-for-a-realignment-69417.html)
…as well as the International Court of Justice’s current engagement with the question of the ‘Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem’ (https://www.icj-cij.org/case/186)
I welcome Gavin’s optimism about the new relationship between Morocco and Israel.
I hope both Nations will experience positive outcomes internally and externally.
I look for good news at a time when:
On Saturday two Israeli men were shot dead at a carwash in Huwara
On Saturday an Israeli woman was killed whist driving in south Hebron Hills (and another seriously wounded)
Since beginning of the year 34 people (32 Israelis & an Italian tourist, and a worker from Gaza) were killed in terror attacks. A further 110 people were injured