Morocco’s former PM says country should reconsider Israel normalisation

Former Moroccan prime minister Abdelilah Benkirane, who heads the opposition Justice and Development Party, has called on the current Moroccan government to reconsider its 2020 normalisation of ties with Israel. 

Benkirane made the comments in a video  published on the party's official Facebook page, where he emphasised that there was no longer "any moral justification" to maintain ties with Israel as it continues its nearly year-long war on Gaza. 

The former premier made the remarks during a meeting of his party's General Secretariat in Rabat, where he also expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, as well as the Lebanese people amid renewed Israel-Hezbollah hostilities. 

"The agreements binding our state with what is called Israel no longer have any rational, logical, or moral justification," Benkirane, who was prime minister between 2011 and 2017, said. 

"There must be a reconsideration of the normalisation agreements between Morocco and what is referred to as Israel." 

He added that while Moroccans "may remain silent, they feel as though these bullets have pierced their own bodies, as though they have killed their brothers".

Benkirane has been a vocal critic 0f Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, where over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed and the normalisation deal between his country and Israel. 

Normalisation deal

Last week, the Moroccan opposition leader said that had he continued to remain in office as Prime Minister, he would have not normalised relations with Israel. 

During his party’s 18th National Youth Forum, Benkirane revealed that he urged his successor Saadeddine Othmani, who was prime minister when the 2020 normalisation agreement with Israel was signed, to resign, advising him to "keep your dignity." 

Benkirane also claimed that he had asked King Mohammed VI to relieve Othmani of his duties. 

The former prime minister had also previously stated that the Justice and Development Party had opposed normalisation at the time and would continue to reject it.  

Separately, Othmani described signing the agreement as "painful and difficult," explaining that it was a "state decision".

He insisted that normalisation was not at the expense of the Palestinian cause. 

However, the decision sparked widespread controversy within Morocco and across the region. 

The normalisation agreement between Morocco and Israel, part of the Abraham Accords brokered by then-US President Donald Trump, was announced on 20 December 2020. 

Morocco gained political and diplomatic advantages by signing the deal, most notably the US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.  

Within Morocco, many political factions, particularly Islamic, nationalist, and leftist groups, as well as human rights organisations, criticised the agreement as a departure from Morocco’s longstanding stance on the Palestinian issue.