[News] One Year After October 7: ‘Normalization Has Fallen Po[CENSORED]rly and Must Fall Officially’

[Revo]

 

Doha - At least 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza over the past year. It’s not just a number. They were mothers, fathers, children, doctors, teachers, dreamers. Lives cut short in a year of relentless bombardment that has left the coastal enclave in ruins.

This unending horror show inflicted on Gazans by Israel started a year ago as a humiliated Israeli military complex scrambled to respond to “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” the surprise attack a faction of Hamas-led Palestinian militants launched on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The ensuing Israeli military response has devastated Gaza, killing tens of thousands and displacing an estimated 1.9 million people (90%).

Thousands of kilometers away from Gaza, the reverberations of this Israeli-carried genocidal campaign are being felt acutely in Morocco. Having normalized relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords, the North African kingdom finds itself caught in a growing tension between its official diplomatic stance and widespread po[CENSORED]r opposition to ties with Israel.

Morocco’s normalization with Israel was part of a broader shift in Arab-Israeli relations orchestrated by the Trump administration. On December 10, 2020, Morocco became the fourth Arab country that year to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, following the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan. This made Morocco the sixth member of the Arab League to normalize relations with the Jewish state.

The deal was a complex diplomatic maneuver. In exchange for normalizing relations with Israel, Morocco secured US recognition of its sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara territory. This was a significant diplomatic victory for Rabat, as the Western Sahara conflict has been a cornerstone of Moroccan foreign policy for decades. The United States also committed to opening a consulate in Dakhla, Western Sahara, to promote economic and business opportunities in the region.

However, it’s important to note that Moroccan officials characterize the agreement as “a renewal of relations” rather than “normalization.” “From our perspective,” Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita explained in the immediate aftermath of the US recognition, “we are not talking about normalization because relations were already normal. We are talking about [re-formalizing] the relations between the countries to the relations we had, because there have been relations the entire time. They never stopped.”

Despite this official framing, the normalization agreement was controversial from the start within Morocco. Polls showed that a staggering 88% of Moroccans opposed normalization at the time. The deal faced criticism from various sectors of Moroccan society, including Islamist parties, leftist groups, and civil society organizations. Several Moroccan organizations called for demonstrations against normalizing relations with Israel, but these were dispersed by authorities due to the state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The events of October 7, and Israel’s subsequent genocidal campaign in Gaza have only intensified anti-normalization sentiment in Morocco. Massive protests have erupted across the country, with demonstrators denouncing Israel’s actions and calling on the government to sever ties. These protests represent what some observers describe as “unprecedented anger” at the government’s close ties with Israel, posing a new challenge to the kingdom’s stability.

Recent surveys paint a stark picture of shifting public opinion. The Arab Barometer poll found that support for normalization between Arab states and Israel, including Morocco, plummeted from 31% in 2022 to just 13% in 2024. This dramatic decline is largely attributed to the ongoing war on Gaza and how it is perceived across the Arab world.

The conflict has exposed a growing divide between Morocco’s official policy and po[CENSORED]r sentiment. While the government maintains diplomatic ties with Israel, weekly protests continue in support of Palestinians, with calls to end normalization growing louder. This has led to growing tension between the kingdom’s official policy of maintaining ties with Israel and the increasing public and political opposition.

The war has challenged Morocco’s delicate balancing act. On one hand, the kingdom has historical ties to its Jewish community and sees potential economic and strategic benefits in relations with Israel. Morocco’s Jewish community, once the largest in the Arab world, has strong historical ties to Israel, with an estimated one million Moroccan Jews residing in Israel. On the other hand, Morocco has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause and chairs the Al-Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Critics argue that normalization undermines Morocco’s traditional support for Palestinians and threatens its national security by allowing Israeli influence to permeate various sectors of the state. They contend that it strains Morocco’s relations with other Arab countries, particularly Algeria. Some observers suggest that the “sovereignty bargain” in which the US and Israel recognized Moroccan right to Western Sahara in exchange for Israel ties is now in doubt, potentially jeopardizing the monarchy if it continues.

The situation is further complicated by regional dynamics. Algeria, Morocco’s neighbor and rival, has expressed strong dissatisfaction with Morocco’s normalization of relations with Israel, viewing it as a threat to the Maghreb countries. This has led to increased tensions between the two nations, with some analysts warning of the potential for conflict.

To gain deeper insight into the anti-normalization movement in Morocco, Morocco World News (MWN) spoke with two prominent activists at the forefront of these efforts.

‘Normalization has become a comprehensive Zionization’
Aziz Hanaoui, Secretary General of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalization, painted a stark picture of what he sees as the dangers of Morocco’s ties with Israel.

Hanaoui began by emphasizing that Morocco has a long history of normalization with Israel, dating back to the early days of independence from France. “The Moroccan scene is known classically since decades, since the eve of independence and while colonialism was still present in Morocco, for Zionist infiltration through the component of the Jewish community,” he explained.

This infiltration, according to Hanaoui, involved the exploitation of the Jewish presence in Morocco by Zionist propaganda, the Mossad, and the World Jewish Agency, resulting in the “piracy” of a large number of Moroccan Jews.

“The current wave of normalization has dangerously permeated many sectors of public policy in the country,” Hanaoui said. “It has infiltrated culture, education, agriculture, economy, technology, security, military, archaeology, and even religious affairs.”

Hanaoui argues that normalization was introduced through several “national gateways” that go beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These include the Western Sahara issue, with normalization framed as a way to gain support for Morocco’s territorial integrity. The Jewish diaspora angle portrays normalization as reconnecting with Moroccan Jews in Israel, he says.

Amazigh identity politics have been exploited to create divisions between Arab and Amazigh communities. Some Zionist narratives portray Arabs as enemies of both Israel and Amazigh people, framing the Islamic conquests 1400 years ago as colonization. Lastly, Hanaoui explains, some in Morocco have used the strategic rivalry with Algeria to position ties with Israel as a counterbalance.

He emphasizes that this approach has led to a significant shift in how normalization is justified. “The Palestinian issue is no longer part of the political references to justify the relationship with Israel as it was in the nineties with the Oslo Agreement,” Hanaoui says. “Rather, the Palestinian issue has been jumped over, and this was a fundamental entry point in the normalization issue.”

“This has made the current normalization extremely dangerous because it has strategically embedded itself in many sectors and aspects of general policy in the country,” he explains. “It has gone beyond mere ‘normalization’ to become a comprehensive Zionization.”

Hanaoui is particularly critical of the Moroccan government’s response to the war on Gaza over the past year. He describes the diplomatic stance as “extremely weak, if not highly negligent” given Morocco’s position as chair of the Al-Quds Committee and member of the Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

“The government did not stop normalization despite the scale of genocide and war crimes,” Hanaoui laments. He points to incidents like Morocco sending aid to Gaza via Israel’s Ben Gurion airport as “dangerous” moves that activists reject.

“When the official position moved in the direction of the Palestinian cause and providing relief to Gaza, relief passed through Ben Gurion Airport, and this is a dangerous matter that we reject in the observatory and reject as po[CENSORED]r and civil forces,” he explains. “Military planes cannot pass through the Zionist Ben Gurion Airport under the supervision of the terrorist Zionist army that is killing the Palestinian people, and humanitarian aid passes through it!”

Hanaoui also criticizes the government’s handling of po[CENSORED]r opposition to normalization. He cites the rejection of a petition calling for the closure of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat, which he says violated constitutional law on public petitions.

“The government not only refused to receive the petition, which is a violation of the regulatory law, which is a constitutional law, but the government spokesman blatantly and scandalously lied to the people in his statement at the weekly press conference that he did not receive any message and did not receive any petition,” Hanaoui deplores.

He also points out the contradiction in Morocco’s position given recent developments in Israeli politics. “The official position of the Zionist entity is the cancellation of the two-state solution,” he notes. “The Zionist government led by Netanyahu, then the official position by the Knesset vote to cancel the two-state solution. It was a collective vote.”

He elaborates on the implications of this for Morocco’s policy: “This means that even the ceilings that Moroccan government policy can justify with this position, in parentheses, the middle ground, between Palestine and the Zionist entity no longer exist. But the surreal thing is that the official position is silent and complacent and tries to remain silent most of the time. The situation requires a fundamental position.”

The Observatory has been active in countering pro-normalization narratives and exposing what it sees as Zionist infiltration. Hanaoui cites efforts to monitor delegations visiting Israel or Israeli groups coming to Morocco under the guise of tourism. In one instance, they tracked a delegation that visited Israel under the auspices of an association called “Sharaka” headed by the Israeli president.

“We have now filed an official legal complaint about it with the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rabat at the Court of Appeal with four or five very serious charges,” Hanaoui explains. These charges included praising Zionist terrorism, expressing a relationship with Israeli intelligence (specifically the Mossad), and insulting Islamic sanctities by claiming that the Prophet Muhammad was a Zionist.

In another case, the Observatory monitored an Israeli soldier who came to Marrakech as a tourist after committing crimes in Gaza. “In coordination with lawyers in Marrakech, we filed a lawsuit against this soldier,” Hanaoui says. “It was accepted in a court in Rabat after the Marrakech court said that the Public Prosecution lacked jurisdiction.”

Hanaoui also highlights the Observatory’s efforts to counter pro-normalization narratives, particularly those promoting the slogan “We are all Israelis.” He specifically mentions Ahmed Charai, who used this phrase at the beginning of the Israeli assault on Gaza. The Observatory took a strong stance against this rhetoric, mobilizing public opposition to what Hanaoui called this “treasonous wave” that misrepresents the Moroccan people’s position and colludes with the Israeli aggression.

One particular incident that drew the Observatory’s ire was the acceptance of Hassan Kaabia as deputy director of the Israeli liaison office in Rabat. Hanaoui describes this as “not just a fall, but a great scandal” given Kaabia’s previous derogatory comments about Moroccans.

“Hassan insulted Moroccans and said publicly that we are not human beings, meaning animals, because we go out in demonstrations supporting the Palestinian people against the war of extermination,” Hanaoui explains. He saw the acceptance of Kaabia’s appointment as a humiliation of Moroccans by Israel. “If the liaison office exists due to the logic of authoritarianism, the matter has gone beyond authoritarianism to kneeling to the Zionist will,” he said.

“We are on the eve of the first anniversary of October 7, and we are in the process of developing a program for the first anniversary,” Hanaoui says. “There will be a large momentum of activities, led by the national march on Sunday, October 6 in Rabat.” He emphasizes that these activities would be held under the slogan “Loyalty to the martyrs, support for the resistance until normalization is officially dropped, as it has fallen po[CENSORED]rly.”

‘Normalization threatens Morocco’s national security’
Mohammed Ghafri, National Coordinator of the Moroccan Front for Supporting Palestine and Opposing Normalization, echoed many of Hanaoui’s concerns in a separate interview with MWN.

Ghafri emphasizes the historical context of Morocco’s support for Palestine, stressing: “The Moroccan people and the Moroccan state have historically always been supportive of the Palestinian people, by virtue of it being a people under occupation and supportive of all peoples who resist for independence and to expel the colonizer.”

He argues that the normalization agreement fundamentally contradicts this historical position. “When the Moroccan government normalizes with the Zionist entity, it shakes and undermines this Moroccan custom and prevailing culture that supports people oppressed under occupation,” Ghafri says. As he sees it, normalization “threatens Morocco’s national security” by allowing Israeli infiltration into various sectors of the state.

He expresses particular concern about the impact of normalization on Moroccan social cohesion, especially regarding attempts to exploit divisions between Arab and Amazigh communities.

“Unfortunately, the Zionist entity exploited some Amazigh associations - I say some because Moroccan Amazigh are supportive of the Palestinian people. When the Front announces a national day of solidarity with the Palestinian people, more than 40 cities come out, including the most Amazigh cities in Morocco. Therefore, the entire Moroccan people are in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Ghafri then addresses a controversial slogan that has emerged in some circles: “Taza before Gaza.” This phrase, which prioritizes the Moroccan city of Taza over the Palestinian territory of Gaza, has been used by some pro-normalization voices to argue that Morocco should focus on its own issues rather than the Palestinian cause.

“Some Amazigh associations contain some mercenaries who profit from the Zionist entity and try to whitewash the face of the Zionist entity by talking about ‘Taza before Gaza’ and that we should be concerned with our affairs as Moroccans and not care about what is happening in Palestine,” Ghafri charges.

He strongly criticizes this perspective, seeing it as an attempt to create division within Moroccan society. “This is just one example. Moreover, these same pro-Zionist associations are trying to create tensions between Moroccans who believe their origin is Amazigh and Moroccans who believe their origin is Arab,” Ghafri says. As far as he is concerned, these groups are “trying to divide and spread a group of ethnic provocations in order to create grounds for discord between Moroccans.”

Ghafri argues that this exploitation of identity politics is part of a broader strategy to undermine Moroccan solidarity with Palestinians and facilitate normalization. He stresses that such efforts run counter to Morocco’s long-standing cultural values of peace and solidarity with oppressed peoples.

“The Moroccan culture, among its pillars, is that Moroccans love peace and peace between peoples, and that Moroccans have good relations with all peoples,” Ghafri states. He then warns that normalizing relations with what he termed a “criminal entity that practices these atrocities” could have a corrosive effect on Moroccan culture, potentially “reducing the level of humanity towards raising the level of brutality.”

For Ghafri, the past three years have shown that there is a clear distinction between the positions of the Moroccan state and government on the Palestinian issue. While the monarchy continues to support Palestinians and condemn the occupation, the government is “not only normalizing to the core, but allied with the Zionist entity.”

In its misguided notion of national interest, he argues, the government “has turned its back on Palestine and its people.” He describes this development as very unfortunate, deploring that the government “has found its interests with a criminal entity that usurps land and kills children.”

Ghafri sees the current Moroccan government as one of “patrons” who have economic interests with the “Zionist entity,” suggesting that these material interests have led them to abandon principles of solidarity with Palestinians.

Despite this grim assessment of the government’s position, Ghafri remains hopeful because of the active resistance to normalization within Moroccan civil society. The Front has been active in organizing protests and cultural events in solidarity with Palestinians. As Ghafri recalls, they have held over 1,000 activities since October 7, with member organizations bringing the total to around 5,000 events nationwide.

These actions, according to Ghafri, have had tangible impacts: “First, we have greatly curbed cooperation between the Moroccan government and the Zionist government. Second, we have made a number of normalization matters to be taken in secret and in hiding rather than in public.”

He cites the example of forcing a change in policy regarding Israeli ships docking in Moroccan ports after a large protest in Tangier, explaining: “So Zionist ships began to pass through international waters without stopping in Morocco.”

Again pinning his hope on the increasing po[CENSORED]rity of anti-normalization sentiments across Morocco, he says the government will at some point have to reconsider their readiness to remain on good terms with Israel.

“Our presence in the field and our continuity in the field is po[CENSORED]r support and a po[CENSORED]r incubator for the resistance,” he beams. “Therefore, our government has no other option but to, sooner or later, acquiesce to dropping normalization.”

Ghafri concludes by announcing plans for a major march in Rabat on October 6, followed by a national day of protest against normalization on October 7 in over 40 Moroccan cities. “We are preparing to organize a huge march in the streets of Rabat in solidarity with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance and in support of the Al-Aqsa Flood,” he says.

Throughout their conversations with MWN, both activists emphasized that while official normalization continues, it has been thoroughly rejected by the Moroccan public. They see their efforts as crucial in maintaining pressure on the government to eventually sever ties with Israel.

The events of the past year have undoubtedly strained Morocco’s balancing act between its diplomatic agreements and po[CENSORED]r sentiment. As the Gaza war grinds on and anti-normalization protests persist, the government faces difficult choices ahead.

For now, key aspects of Moroccan-Israeli relations like trade and security cooperation remain intact. But public-facing elements such as high-level visits and tourism have taken a significant hit. How long this uneasy status quo can hold remains to be seen.

What is clear is that one year after October 7, the issue of normalization with Israel remains deeply contentious in Morocco. As Hanaoui puts it: “Normalization has fallen po[CENSORED]rly and must fall officially.” Whether that po[CENSORED]r rejection will translate into policy changes is the question that will shape Moroccan politics in the months and years to come.
 

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2024/10/365599/one-year-after-october-7-normalization-has-fallen-po[CENSORED]rly-and-must-fall-officially