2023-06-07 19:45:14
Verbatim. “Israel must show more initiative and courage in its relations with Morocco, particularly in the context of the Sahara issue”. This is the thesis defended by Eran Lerman, former director of foreign affairs in the Israeli National Security Council, in his article entitled “Israel-Morocco relations and the future of the Abraham Accords” published by the Jerusalem Center for strategic studies and relayed by the Israeli press agency JNS.
According to the author of the article, it is time for Tel Aviv to remove the last sensitive barriers, so that relations with Rabat realize their full potential, in particular by recognizing the sovereignty of the Kingdom over its Saharan provinces. He added that the issue of territorial integrity is the highest strategic and diplomatic priority for the Palace, the government and the people, and is therefore at the heart of the country’s diplomatic efforts, particularly with Washington, to obtain the recognition of its sovereignty over the Sahara.
In this sense, Eran Lerman underlines that the tripartite agreement of December 2020, having initiated the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries, was accompanied by the decision of the former American president, Donald Trump, to recognize the Moroccanity of the Sahara. , and that as a result, Rabat expected Tel Avec to follow suit in Washington instead of waiting for additional gestures from the Moroccan side.
+ “Iran’s involvement in the Sahara conflict dates back several decades” +
This slowness, even reluctance, on the part of Israel leaves Moroccans “perplexed”, considers the author of the article, and causes the diplomatic representations of the two countries to stagnate at the level of liaison offices and that they are still not raised to the rank of embassies. This Moroccan discontent would also result in the postponement of the second edition of the Negev Forum, an event that brings together the heads of diplomacy from Israel, the United States and Arab countries that have normalized, scheduled for Morocco in March 2023 but postponed to the end June.
Eran Lerman affirms, moreover, that recognition by Israel of the Moroccanity of the Sahara will not only constitute a major step forward in bilateral relations, but must also consolidate joint efforts against Iranian attempts at hegemony over the region.
The author stresses that the involvement of the Islamic Republic in the Sahara conflict dates back several decades, and is only getting worse as several reports claim that Tehran has recently supplied, via Algeria, equipment including drones attacks on Polisario militias.
The author of the article concludes that the next big step in the rapprochement between Rabat and Tel Aviv, in this case the recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara and the establishment of real embassies in the two capitals, and the Israeli government. But before achieving this, it is preferable to prepare the ground by scheduling a state visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, during which he will be able to meet King Mohammed VI. »
Such a development will have a significant impact on the entire region, as it will breathe new life into the Abraham Accords and the Negev Forum,” concluded Eran Lerman.
*Former councilor Eran Lerman
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