Published on : 19/07/2022 – 03:32
Israeli army chief Aviv Kochavi is the first chief of staff from the Cherifian kingdom to pay an official visit to Morocco. Arrived in Rabat on Monday, he will hold talks with senior military officials for three days.
Israeli army chief Aviv Kochavi arrived in Morocco on Monday (July 18th) for talks with senior military officials as part of growing cooperation between the two states, report military sources to AFP. This is the first official visit by an Israeli chief of staff to the Cherifian kingdom.
During his three-day trip, Aviv Kochavi, former head of military intelligence, is due to meet Abdellatif Loudiyi, Minister Delegate for Defence, Lieutenant-General Belkheir Al-Farouq, Inspector General of the Royal Moroccan Forces (FAR) as well as military and security officials, according to an Israeli spokesman.
The rapprochement between the Morocco and Israel has accelerated since the diplomatic normalization in December 2020 as part of the accords d’Abrahama process between the Jewish state and several Arab countries, supported by Washington.
Thus, for the first time, Israeli military observers took part in the African Lion 2022 military exercise at the end of June, the largest on the African continent, co-organized by Morocco and the United States.
>> To read: Western Sahara: the origins of the crisis between Spain and Morocco
At the end of March, a delegation of senior Israeli officials made a discreet visit to Morocco – once more a first – which resulted in the signing of a cooperation agreement, envisaging the creation of a joint military commission.
In November 2021, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz, signed a memorandum of understanding in Rabat which frames security relations with Morocco. The agreement provides in particular for cooperation between intelligence services, the development of industrial links, the purchase of armaments and joint training.
At the civil level, the partnership between Morocco and Israel continues at a very sustained pace in the technological, economic, cultural and even sporting fields.
A pro-Palestinian rally
At the beginning of the evening, a few hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested without incident in front of the parliament in Rabat once morest the visit of the chief of staff of the “Zionist army”.
“He is there for real coordination in this new military axis, this new NATO of the Arab world that the Israelis, under the American umbrella, have created and of which Israel is the spearhead, and which will result in an increased risk of war “, told AFP the Moroccan activist Sion Assidon, a septuagenarian of Berber Jewish origin.
If the Palestinian cause continues to gather the sympathy of the Moroccan population, it no longer mobilizes the crowds.
The normalization of relations with Israel was obtained in exchange for the recognition by the United States of the “Moroccanness” of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, considered the “first national cause” in Morocco.
With AFP