A Year On: Moroccan Campaign Against Ties With Israel Continues

A year has passed since the former US President Donald Trump announced reaching an agreement between Morocco and Israel to normalize relations for the first time since Israel was created in 1948.

Unlike the agreement between Israel and GCC countries in the UAE and Bahrain, many Moroccans have been expressing their dissatisfaction with their government's decision to recognize the Israeli state and sign trade agreements with it.

On many occasions throughout 2021, thousands of Moroccans took to the streets in solidarity with Palestinians and in rejection of the normalization deal between Rabat and Tel Aviv, particularly in May 2021, during the Israeli attacks on East Jerusalem and Gaza, during which more than 250 Palestinians were killed by Israel.

Other protests took place in Moroccan cities when Rabat welcomed the Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz last month, in what has since been perceived as a "historic visit".

Yet, Moroccan social media and civil society activists have continued rallying online to renew their rejection of normalization with Israel before it ends its occupation of Palestinian territories using the hashtags #فليسقط_التطبيع (Down with normalization) and #التطبيع_خيانة (Normalization is treason).

Some social media accounts also reported a demonstration in the city of Meknes to the north of Morocco, one that took place on the first anniversary of the joint agreement between Israel and Morocco.