Moroccan security forces suppress 'Land Day' pro-Palestinian protest in Rabat

Moroccan security forces on Tuesday evening suppressed a demonstration in Rabat against normalisation of relations with Israel, held to coincide with Palestinian commemorations of Land Day.

Security forces prevented protesters from reaching a square in central Rabat adjacent to the Moroccan parliament, according to the Reuters news agency.

Morocco normalised relations with Israel on 10 December 2020, following pressure and incentives from the administration of former US President Donald Trump.

The US recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region as a quid pro quo for normalization.

The protesters in Rabat held up signs saying “Normalisation is Betrayal”, “Palestine is a Responsibility”, and “Demonstration is a Right” before the security forces intervened.

Many people were also prevented from joining the protest by the Moroccan security forces.

Read more: Land Day 2021 - Israel intensifies efforts to cleanse Palestinians

Abdul Samad Fathi, the deputy coordinator of the Moroccan “National Front to Support Palestine and Oppose Normalisation”, which consists of a number of civil society groups, condemned the suppression of the protests.

He told Reuters that the actions of the security forces were “a stab in the back and denial of official slogans proclaiming support of the Palestinian cause.”

The Moroccan government still proclaims that it supports the Palestinians, despite its normalisation of relations with Israel.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI chairs the Al-Quds Committee, which was formed by Islamic countries in 1975 to protect Muslim holy places in Jerusalem and support Palestinians living there.

Land Day is commemorated by Palestinians and their supporters around the world every year, to mark the events of 30 March 1976, when Israeli forces killed six unarmed Palestinian-Israeli protesters and injured about 100 others, after they demonstrated against an Israeli plan to confiscate thousands of acres of Palestinian land in Galilee.

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