Morocco cracks down on pro-Palestine protest after Macron's 'anti-Hamas' speech

Moroccan authorities used force to disperse pro-Palestine demonstrators gathering outside the French consulate Wednesday after French President Emmanuel Macron branded the militant group Hamas as "barbaric" in a speech before the Moroccan parliament.

On Wednesday evening, 30 October, hundreds of protesters amassed in Casablanca's consulate district, chanting, "Macron is a coward, resistance is not terrorism."

Macron's remarks, delivered Tuesday to a packed chamber in Rabat, emphasised France's close ties with Morocco, expressed support for Morocco's Western Sahara autonomy plan, and called for peace in Gaza and Lebanon.

However, his description of Hamas as "barbaric" and "terrorist" and his firm defence of Israel's "right to self-defence" struck a nerve in Morocco, where solidarity with the Palestinian cause runs deep.

Opposition parties the Unified Socialist Party and the Justice and Development Party (PJD) condemned Macron's remarks and declared support for Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation and the years-long besiege of the Gaza Strip.

Yet other parties refrained from addressing Macron's controversy.

The dispersal of Wednesday's protest led to injuries amongst protesters and the arrest of two female protesters who were later released, according to the Moroccan Front for Palestine, which had called for the demonstration.

Police also erected barriers throughout the area, keeping protesters from regrouping.

"Two women and two young men injured in the dispersal were later admitted to the hospital for treatment", added the local anti-normalisation group.

As of Thursday morning, Morocco's Ministry of Interior had not addressed the events.

While Morocco has avoided directly curbing the surge in pro-Palestinian protests since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, authorities have repeatedly prevented protesters from approaching embassies and consulates, namely those of France.

Since last October, demonstrations opposing normalisation with Israel have grown louder. The tensions prompted Tel Aviv to temporarily close its liaison office in Rabat, reopening it under a new mission at a different address in August, according to local media reports—though both governments haven't confirmed the reports.

The former prime minister and current PJD head, Abdelilah Benkirane, claimed in May that Rabat had initially considered banning Pro-Palestine solidarity protests last October. "Officials feared the political fallout of such a ban", he said, citing private sources.

Rabat has publicly condemned Israel's "flagrant violations of international law" in Gaza, though, a source from Morocco's foreign ministry told Reuters in March, normalisation with Israel continues as it strengthens Morocco's role "in advocating" for Palestinian rights.