Pro-Palestine protests break out in 46 Moroccan cities following Israel’s deadly assaults on Gaza

Protests broke out in 46 Moroccan cities on Sunday evening in solidarity with Palestinians facing a deadly Israeli assault in Gaza and forced expulsion from their homes in East Jerusalem.

An organisation called the Moroccan Front for Support of Palestine and Against Normalisation called for the protests with more than 15 civil society groups taking part.

In the capital Rabat, hundreds of protesters congregated outside the Moroccan parliament chanting slogans in support of Palestinians following Israeli air strikes in Gaza which have killed nearly 198 people, including 58 children.

They also burned Israeli flags and denounced the four Arab governments that normalised relations with Israel over the past year, including Morocco.

Morocco announced that it was normalising ties with Israel in December. Earlier this month, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita became the first senior Arab official to address an event hosted by the US pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.

Last March, Moroccan police forcibly dispersed a protest held on the occasion of Land Day, close to parliament, in solidarity with Palestinians. On this occasion, Moroccan security forces did not interfere.

An estimated 3,000 people also took to the streets of Marrakech, carrying Palestinian and Moroccan flags and chanting slogans against Rabat's normalisation pact with Israel.

The northern city of Tangiers also saw angry protests against Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

Protest organisers are planning further demonstrations next week.

The Moroccan government has previously expressed "grave concern" over Israel's attacks on worshippers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan.

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