Morocco and Israel are moving closer despite widespread anger among Moroccans over the war on Gaza [Getty]
Israel and Morocco have agreed to upgrade diplomatic ties by opening full embassies and appointing ambassadors, marking a further deepening of relations established under the US-brokered normalisation agreements of 2020.
The agreement was reached during a tripartite meeting in New York between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita and US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, according to a statement published on Wednesday by the Israeli government’s official Arabic-language account on X.
The officials agreed on a series of measures aimed at strengthening relations, including “elevating their respective diplomatic missions to the level of embassies, and appointing ambassadors”, the statement said.
The move would represent a significant diplomatic upgrade. Israel and Morocco currently operate liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv following the restoration of formal ties in December 2020.
Morocco was one of four Arab countries – alongside the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan – to move towards normalising relations with Israel that year under agreements brokered by the first administration of US President Donald Trump.
As part of the Morocco agreement, Washington recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, breaking with decades of previous US policy. Morocco considers the territory part of the kingdom, while the Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeks independence.
The normalisation agreements were strongly opposed by Palestinians, who argued they undermined a longstanding Arab position linking full diplomatic relations with Israel to the establishment of a Palestinian state and an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.
Relations between Israel and Morocco have continued despite widespread anger in Morocco over Israel’s war on Gaza, where pro-Palestinian demonstrations have repeatedly called for Rabat to sever ties with Israel.
The planned upgrade therefore signals that bilateral relations are continuing to deepen despite the regional fallout from the Gaza war and domestic opposition to normalisation within Morocco.
Wednesday’s statement also said Israel and Morocco had agreed to expand direct flights and work towards finalising agreements intended to facilitate investment and strengthen economic and trade ties.
Israel and Morocco have also expanded security and defence cooperation since restoring relations, with Israel formally recognising Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in 2023.
Morocco has historically maintained significant cultural links with Israel, where hundreds of thousands of Jews are of Moroccan ancestry. The two countries maintained lower-level relations during the 1990s before Rabat severed them following the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000.
The latest agreement would take relations beyond the liaison-office arrangement established after ties were restored and place diplomatic representation formally at ambassadorial level.
