Morocco normalised relations with Israel in 2020 through the US-brokered Abraham Accords. [Getty]
As Morocco publicly denounces Israeli-US efforts to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza, it is simultaneously deepening military cooperation with Israel—a contradictory policy that doesn’t make sense for pro-Palestinian groups in the North African state.
Over the weekend, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita rejected any attempt to forcibly uproot Gaza’s population, stressing that “the decision always lies with the Palestinians“.
The Moroccan top diplomat, who really addresses Israel‘s policies, was directly responding to Israeli media reports suggesting the possibility of relocating Gazans elsewhere—a plan widely decried as “ethnic cleansing”.
US President Donald Trump—who has long treated geopolitics like a real estate deal—had floated the idea of resettling Gazans in Morocco, Somaliland, and Puntland, according to Israeli media.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the plan, envisioning Gaza’s transformation into the Middle East ‘Riviera.’
FM Bourita’s comments come amid growing protests across Morocco, where demonstrators accuse Rabat of bowing to Washington and Tel Aviv’s efforts to redraw the region’s demographic map.
“Palestinians are our brothers, and they are always welcome here, but we will never accept this plan because it is nothing short of ethnic cleansing”, Ismail Hanoui, a member of Morocco’s national committee against normalisation with Israel, told The New Arab.
Activists also condemned the alleged proposal as an affront to Morocco’s sovereignty, arguing that the only appropriate response would be to sever ties with Israel and close its liaison office in Rabat.
Morocco’s normalisation with Israel: before vs after ceasefire
Morocco normalised relations with Israel in 2020 through the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
In exchange, the Trump administration recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, a longstanding territorial dispute with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
Since then, Israel and Morocco have signed dozens of agreements in education, trade, and defence. Though opposition to normalisation existed, protests remained relatively contained until Israel’s war on Gaza began on 7 October 2023.
In the months that followed, mass demonstrations swept Moroccan cities, pressuring the government to distance itself from Tel Aviv.
Rabat largely tolerated the protests, cancelled high-profile visits by Israeli officials, and remained publicly silent on its diplomatic ties.
For many activists, the slow pace of engagement signalled a potential retreat from normalisation. But recent developments have tempered those hopes.
“Unfortunately, as soon as a ceasefire was announced, Israeli flags, officials, and arms deals were shamelessly welcomed back to Morocco,” said Rachid Flouli, a pro-Palestine activist at a weekend rally outside the Moroccan parliament.
Just weeks after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Morocco finalised a major arms deal—not with its traditional European suppliers like France, but with the Israeli defence company Elbit Systems, a firm embedded in Israel’s military apparatus.
According to the French newspaper La Tribune, Elbit secured a contract to supply Morocco with 36 ATMOS 2000 self-propelled howitzers, beating out the French defence company KNDS, which had hoped to expand its sales of the CAESAR artillery system to Rabat.
The Elbit deal is not Morocco’s first military collaboration with Israel.
In 2022, the company secured a $70 million contract to supply the Royal Armed Forces with Alinet Electronic Warfare Solutions.
Plans for an Israeli drone manufacturing facility in Morocco were quietly shelved amid the Gaza war.
Rabat’s defence budget continues to rise, up 7 percent for 2025 amid tensions with Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
French media outlets have framed the Elbit deal as a blow to Paris, which has been eager to restore diplomatic ties with Morocco after a period of friction.
According to La Tribune, France had assumed its defence firms were the frontrunners for Moroccan contracts—only to see Rabat pivot toward Tel Aviv.
However, for many in Morocco, the real issue isn’t French diplomacy, but the optics of buying arms from a country accused of genocide.
Rabat has long justified normalisation as a means of advocating for Palestinian rights from within. Yet local pro-Palestinian groups argue that expanding military ties with Israel—a nation accused of genocide and war crimes in Gaza—flies in the face of that claim.
Despite the disappointment, pro-Palestinian groups say they won’t relent.
“The ceasefire is not the end of our fight”, said Pro-Palestine activist Rachid Flouli, addressing a chanting crowd in front of the Parliament in Rabat. “We will continue protesting and pressuring the government until they cut all ties with the Zionist entity.”
