The Israeli liaison office in Morocco has recently resumed operations following the appointment of Hassan Kaiba as deputy to the former head of the office, David Covrin, amid Israeli instructions not to speak to the Moroccan media. The newspaper "Hespress" reported from a responsible source at the office, which returned its team to work after a ten-month closure due to the war in Gaza, stating that "the Israeli Foreign Ministry has forbidden Kaiba and various members of the office's staff from speaking to Moroccan media."
The same source refused to respond to "the outrage from Moroccan entities and parties regarding this return, rejecting the normalization process between Morocco and Israel, which began in 2020 with American mediation," stating: "Let's work on strengthening relations between Rabat and Tel Aviv."
The newspaper noted that in recent days, the Israeli liaison office's social media account in Rabat became active, extending congratulations to Morocco on national events such as the anniversary of the "recovery of Wadi al-Dhahab," "Throne Day," and the two medals won at the Paris Olympics.
This gradual resumption of the office's operations comes amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, which Morocco opposes. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita confirmed in a press statement with his Chadian counterpart that "Morocco absolutely rejects what some extremist elements in the Israeli government are doing by storming the Al-Aqsa mosque plaza," adding that the targeting of Israeli extremists towards hospitals and the recent targeting of a school is "unacceptable," which Morocco condemns and considers a "serious crime" that should be addressed as such by Israeli authorities and extremists in the Israeli government, which resort to such practices that are rejected by divine legislations, international law, and human values, and this is, of course, "unacceptable and rejected."
According to "Hespress," Moroccan-Israeli relations have notably deteriorated since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, leading Tel Aviv to evacuate its embassies and diplomatic offices in several countries, including Morocco.
In statements to "Hespress," Abdelilah Benabdellah, a leading member of the Moroccan Front for Supporting Palestine and Opposing Normalization, condemned the return of the Israeli liaison office's activities, stating: "It is a disgrace for Morocco to have relations with an outlaw state that commits various forms of cleansing, killing children and women along with many internationally prohibited crimes."
Benabdellah further stated: "The return of this office to work is strongly condemned by the Moroccan street, which rejects the normalization process with the Zionist entity... many parliamentary groups have previously called for halting this normalization process," demanding "the immediate expulsion of Hassan Kaiba and his team who have returned to Moroccan territory, along with a comprehensive and final end to the normalization process and criminalization of it."
He concluded by saying: "We continue to demonstrate in the Moroccan streets against normalization and in defense of Palestine and the legitimate rights of its people, and we will examine the developments regarding the return of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat in a forthcoming meeting."
