People in North Africa rally in support for Palestinians. In Morocco, people also condemn the recent normalization of ties with Israel

People in North Africa rally in support for Palestinians. In Morocco, people also condemn the recent normalization of ties with Israel

Located in the North of Africa, Morocco borders Algeria to the East, the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic to the South and the two Spanish Autonomous cities of Melilla and Ceuta to the North. 

After the recent bombings over Palestinians by the Israeli Army in the Gaza Strip, many communities around the world decided to demonstrate and rally to show their support for Palestinian people. For instance, within North Africa, Tunisia was one of them, with demonstrations taking place last Sunday in various Tunisian cities, demanding the intervention of the international community to stop the “crimes” of the Israeli forces. 

Another country within North Africa that saw hundreds of people rallying in their streets was Morocco. Last Sunday, nearly a thousand gathered in Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech to condemn “violence perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinians”. However, some have reported that many people taking part in these rallies were also condemning the recent normalization of diplomatic ties between Israel and Morocco, chanting “The people want the fall of normalization”. Considered a “national cause” in the kingdom, the Palestinian cause mobilizes civil society and some far-left political parties and Islamists opposed to this normalization.

It is important to remember that Morocco was the fourth Arab country to announce the normalization of diplomatic ties with Israel last December, after Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. This decision was encouraged by former United States President Donald Trump as one of his last moves before leaving the White House. From the side of the North African Kingdom, the normalization of ties was considered to be merely strategic, as it was linked to US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

On the meantime, it has been reported that Morocco’s Foreign Ministry has sent emergency humanitarian aid to Palestinian territories last Saturday. A shipment that consisted mainly of 20 tons of basic foodstuffs, emergency medicines and blankets.