Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid traveled to Morocco on Wednesday for the first official visit since the resumption of relations between the two countries late last year, following the normalization of relations with three Arab countries. Lapid tweeted, "Set off on a historic visit to Morocco," alongside a photo of the departure board of El Al Israeli Airlines. Israel and Morocco resumed their relations last year, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to normalize ties with Israel after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan. This normalization followed the recognition by former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration of Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory with the Polisario Front.
During his visit, Lapid is set to inaugurate the Israeli diplomatic mission in Rabat and hold talks with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. The Israeli Foreign Ministry indicated that he is also expected to visit the Beit El synagogue in Casablanca during his two-day trip. Israeli radio "Kan" in Arabic reported that Minister of Social Affairs Meir Cohen and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Ram Ben Barak are accompanying him.
Morocco has the largest Jewish community in North Africa, numbering around three thousand, while approximately seven hundred thousand Jews of Moroccan descent live in Israel. The two countries established diplomatic relations through liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv following the signing of the Oslo peace agreements between Palestinians and Israelis in 1993. However, Morocco officially severed these relations after the Palestinian uprising in 2000. Palestinians view the normalization agreements between Arab countries and Israel as a "betrayal," convinced that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should precede any normalization. King Mohammed VI, who chairs the Al-Quds Committee, has repeatedly affirmed support for the Palestinian cause based on negotiations for a two-state solution since the normalization with Israel. Lapid's visit to Rabat follows a trip he made in June to the United Arab Emirates, where he inaugurated the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi.
