Protesters gathered in cities across Morocco over the weekend to oppose a decision to upgrade the country’s diplomatic ties with Israel, including plans to open embassies and exchange ambassadors.
The demonstrations followed meeting earlier this month in New York between Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz. The two countries agreed to elevate their liaison offices to embassies and appoint ambassadors.
The Moroccan Front for Supporting Palestine and Opposing Normalisation organized a three-day protest campaign that ended Sunday. A separate Moroccan group reported holding more than 76 protest events in 45 cities on Friday, including Casablanca, Tangier, Marrakech, Rabat, and Oujda, Voice of Morocco reported.
Demonstrators gathered outside parliament in Rabat and marched through Marrakech, calling for Morocco to reject the embassy plans and end its agreements with Israel. The Front said it opposed efforts to make diplomatic and economic ties with Israel an accepted part of Moroccan public life.
In Tangier on Sunday, police detained several protesters. According to activists cited by the New Arab and TSA Algérie. Activist Hassan Bennajeh said Muhammad al-Saroukh, a member of the Islamist opposition movement Al Adl Wa Al Ihssane, was among those detained. Bennajeh later said al-Saroukh had been released. The status of others reportedly detained was unclear.
Morocco restored relations with Israel in December 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords. The countries have since maintained liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv. The planned exchange of ambassadors would further raise the level of their diplomatic relations.