Tens of thousands of Moroccans protested in Rabat on Sunday in support of Palestinian Arabs and against normalization of ties with Israel, a day ahead of the anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, AFP reported.
Demonstrators waved Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags and brandished signs denouncing the kingdom's 2020 normalization with Israel, amid chants of "Resistance does not die" and "The people want an end to normalization".
Protesters also waved the Lebanese flag and held portraits of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was eliminated in an Israeli strike on southern Beirut on September 27, as well as of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was eliminated in Tehran in July, in a strike which has been attributed to Israel.
Protests against Israel's war in Gaza have repeatedly drawn thousands of people in Morocco since the conflict began on October 7, 2023.
A protest in December of 2023 saw thousands staging a march in Rabat, demanding an end to Morocco's ties with Israel.
In July, thousands of Moroccans demonstrated in the northern city of Tangier in support of the Palestinian Arab people and against Morocco's ties with Israel.
Morocco renewed its official relations with Israel amid a string of normalization deals between Israel and Arab countries, brokered by the Trump administration in late 2020.
Although Morocco and Israel have not yet completed the process of setting up full embassies in each other's countries as they agreed, they have moved closer together, signing a defense cooperation pact, among other things.
Morocco has officially denounced what it said were "flagrant violations of the provisions of international law" by Israel in its war against Hamas, but has not given any indication that normalization with Israel would be undone.