Morocco group slams decision to ban pro-Palestine march

A group in Morocco voiced discontent with local authorities on Thursday after a march of solidarity with Palestine scheduled to take place at the end of the week was banned.

The 'National Action Group for Palestine' (NAGP) rejected the decision by Moroccan authorities which claimed it had banned the march to protect the community from the ongoing coronavirus health emergency.

"The National Action Group declares its strong rejection of the logic of authoritarianism in preventing and suppressing the right of the Moroccan people to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people, their embrace of comprehensive resistance, and their rejection of all forms of normalisation (with Israel)", the group said during a press conference.

The group called on the authorities to reconsider the decision.

"We demand the closure of the so-called Zionist liaison office in our country, the cessation of all forms of dealing with the usurping entity, and the abolition of disgraceful normalisation agreement."

While Sunday's gathering was banned for Covid-related purposes, several other demonstrations have been held across the country in recent weeks. 

So far, more than seven million Moroccans have already received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine according to the health ministry.

Morocco and Israel officially normalised ties in December last year under US-brokered deals. Then-President Trump fulfilled a decades-old goal of Rabat by backing its contested sovereignty in the Western Sahara in return of the diplomatic deal.

"Preventing the march next Sunday is a setback for the public authorities… which has missed a strong opportunity to restore some of the national dignity that was lost after signing the normalisation agreement in the name of the Western Sahara cause", the NAGP added, condemning the agreement signed with Israel and calling on the government to abolish it. 

However, the Moroccan government has condemned the current ongoing violations carried out by Israel against Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, where at least 230 Palestinians, including at least 65 children, have been killed in the enclave alone since the start of the Israeli bombardment.

The death toll also continues to surge in the West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem, with at least 27 killed since the violence commenced.

More than 6,000 others have been wounded across the Palestinian territories and thousands more have been forcibly displaced from their homes.