‘Because this emboldens it to further breach rights of Palestinians,’ El Otmani says
Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani on Sunday rejected the prospect of normalizing ties with Israel, shooting down rumors his state would be one of the next to ink an agreement with Jerusalem.
“We refuse any normalization with the Zionist entity because this emboldens it to go further in breaching the rights of the Palestinian people,” El Otmani told his Islamist PJD party as cited by Reuters.
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Morocco has been one of the Arab nations rumored to normalize relations with Jerusalem, following the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) steps.
“Both states have extensive tourism, and trade and economic relations,” an unnamed UAE advisor told Hebrew-language daily Israel Hayom after the Israel-UAE deal was announced.
The north African country and Israel began low-level relations in 1993 after the Oslo Accords had commenced. But Rabat suspended relations with Jerusalem after the outbreak of the Palestinian Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000.
Since then, Morocco has favored the two-state solution as its official foreign policy position.
El Otmani’s comments came ahead of Trump administration top advisor Jared Kushner’s visit to the region, and as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Israel.
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