“We urge the Moroccan government to take clearer stances on the crimes of the occupation,” urged a pro-Palestinian activist. [Getty]
Anti-normalisation protests returned to Morocco’s streets with renewed intensity, as demonstrators denounce their government’s ties with Israel and its ‘unclear’ position after Tel Aviv resumed a bloody onslaught on the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday afternoon, as the clock neared Ramadan’s iftar meal, dozens gathered in the capital Rabat before the Moroccan parliament’s shuttered gates, chanting “The people want to end normalisation!”
Demonstrators also recited Quran verses in memory of Gaza’s dead. More than 400 people have been killed, including many children, as Israel violated the ceasefire and resumed attacks on Gaza early on Tuesday morning.
“Moroccans will remain loyal to Al-Aqsa and Palestine. We will defend our Palestinian brothers with all our strength—through words, protests, marches, boycotts, and pressure, no matter the cost”, Aouss Remmal, president of the Islamist Movement for Unity and Reform, addressed the crowd.
“We refuse to be among the betrayers,” he added.
Chanting ‘the resistance will be victorious’, protesters burned two Israeli flags—an act of defiance after former Israeli liaison office chief David Govrin urged Moroccan authorities to ban Israeli flag burnings.
By nightfall, as Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza, Moroccans poured into the streets across the country in one of the largest protest waves since the war began in October 2023.
After Tarawih prayers, more people joined the protests, clutching their prayer mats and chanting, “Palestine is not for sale.”
In Tangier, the protests were particularly charged. Demonstrators packed the streets, condemning Washington’s unwavering support for Israel’s assault.
Similar scenes played out in Casablanca, where marchers filled the working-class neighbourhoods of Sidi Moumen and El Oulfa.
Shortly after the latest strikes, Hamas accused the US of bearing “full responsibility for the massacres,” citing reports that the administration of President Donald Trump had been informed in advance of Israel’s plans.
Smaller but equally impassioned protests erupted in towns and cities across the country, organised by a coalition of pro-Palestine groups, including the Moroccan Front for the Support of Palestine and Against Normalisation and the Islamist Moroccan Commission for the Support of the Ummah’s Causes.
From Rabat to Casablanca, Tangier to Marrakech, the message was clear: the government’s 2020 normalisation agreement had no place in the hearts of the people.
“We urge the Moroccan government to take clearer stances on the crimes of the occupation, (…) halt all forms of normalisation, and open the way for grassroots initiatives to aid Gaza,” Remmal told the New Arab.
He also called on the international community to break the siege, stop the war, and hold Israel accountable.
Morocco’s normalisation
Since October 2023, Morocco has witnessed near-daily demonstrations. Protest organisers say more than 6,500 pro-Gaza and anti-normalisation actions have taken place across the country over the past year.
Morocco normalised ties with Israel in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
While Rabat has tolerated the protests and scaled back Israeli official visits, it has stopped short of severing relations. Authorities insist that diplomatic engagement with Israel does not come at the expense of Palestinian solidarity.
Even after a ceasefire was declared in January, rallies continued, shifting focus to demands for the expulsion of the Israeli diplomatic mission and an end to security cooperation between Rabat and Tel Aviv.
However, Tuesday’s protests carried fresh urgency. News of Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, which Palestinian health authorities say has killed at least 419 people—including scores of women and children—rekindled public outrage.
According to BDS Morocco, Rabat “rushed to publicise normalisation again” as soon as the ceasefire was announced, finalising an arms deal with Israel’s Elbit Systems, resuming construction of the Israeli embassy in Rabat, and hosting an Israeli minister in Marrakech within weeks.
Moroccan officials have yet to comment on Israel’s latest attacks. However, opposition political groups across the country have issued strong condemnations.
For instance, The Islamist Justice and Development (PJD) accused Washington of complicity, denouncing the US administration’s “direct role in the slaughter.”
The opposition party urged the Moroccan government to “denounce Israeli crimes, take all necessary actions to halt the genocide, support Palestinians, and annul all agreements with this criminal and treacherous entity that neither believes in peace nor can be trusted.”
