Moroccan Citizens Rally for Palestinian Solidarity
On the evening of Sunday, September 27, 2026, hundreds of Moroccans took to the streets across various cities to express their solidarity with Palestine and to voice their opposition to the expansion of diplomatic relations between Rabat and Tel Aviv to the level of embassies. This wave of protests was organized by the "Moroccan Front for Supporting Palestine and Opposing Normalization," a non-governmental organization, in response to the recent developments in Moroccan-Israeli relations.
On September 17, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that Foreign Minister Gidon Sa'ar had met with his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita, in New York during a trilateral meeting hosted by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Wallace. The ministry's statement highlighted that the discussions focused on steps aimed at "upgrading relations between Israel and Morocco," which included elevating the diplomatic missions to the status of embassies and appointing ambassadors. However, there has been no official comment from Rabat regarding this meeting.
The protests on Sunday took place in several cities, including Casablanca, Meknes, Beni Mellal, and Tetouan, where demonstrators raised slogans supporting the Palestinian cause and rejecting normalization with Israel. They demanded a reversal of the decision to elevate diplomatic ties between the two nations.
Since October 8, 2023, with U.S. backing, Israel has been conducting a genocidal campaign against the Gaza Strip, resulting in over 74,000 deaths and more than 175,000 Palestinian injuries, the majority of whom are women and children. The destruction has impacted 90% of the region's infrastructure. Concurrently, Israeli forces and settlers have intensified their assaults in the West Bank, leading to the deaths of 1,206 Palestinians, including 254 children, and injuring approximately 13,350 individuals, with over 24,600 arrests made.
After a 20-year hiatus in diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel, the two countries announced the resumption of ties on December 10, 2020, a move that has faced significant opposition from various political and popular factions within Morocco. The Moroccan government has reaffirmed its official support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, as part of a two-state solution.
Historically, in 1948, the state of Israel was established on lands seized by armed Zionist groups that committed atrocities and displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians. Following this, Tel Aviv occupied the remaining Palestinian territories, refusing to withdraw and allowing for the establishment of the Palestinian state as outlined in numerous United Nations resolutions.
As reported by aa.com.tr.
