Moroccans protest against their country's normalization of ties with Israel

Hundreds of Moroccans from 30 cities have marked the 47th Palestine Land Day, protesting against the North African country's normalisation of ties with Israel.

In the capital Rabat, protesters from all walks of life and different political backgrounds took part in a sit-in in front of the Moroccan parliament, with policemen in riot gear surrounding them.

The protesters chanted “Colonization is terrorism, infiltrators of the Negev.”

Protesters also set the Israeli flag ablaze, chanting “Palestine resists and the regimes bargain,” and “No normalization, no surrender of the resistance forward."

"Moroccan people commemorated Palestine Land Day through events organised in more than 30 Moroccan cities," the Moroccan Front in Support of Palestine and Against normalisation announced in a statement.

"Such events reiterate the principle and historical stance of Moroccans in support of the Palestinians in their resistance against the occupation. The participants expressed their rejection to the normalisation of ties with the Israeli occupation state." the statement added.

On December 10, 2020, Israel and Morocco announced the resumption of diplomatic ties, which were severed in 2000 in protest over Israeli violence against Palestinians.

Moroccans have been resolute in their opposition to the normalization deal. The people of Morocco have also continued to voice their continued support for the liberation of Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, even at places like the Qatar World Cup where both, Moroccan players and fans showed strong support to the Palestinian cause.

Last week, human rights activists, academics and community figures in Morocco also called for an stop to the normalisation of Rabat with Israel and urged cut in ties with it.

Such protests come at a time of increased military, economic and educational agreements linking Morocco and Israel, at a time when Israeli operations against the Palestinian people are escalating.

For several months now, the Israeli army has continued to carry out operations in the northern occupied West Bank, concentrating in the cities of Nablus and Jenin, under the pretext of pursuing wanted persons, resulting in the death, injury, and arrest of dozens of Palestinians.

Israel and the Morocco government agreed on December 10, 2020 to normalize relations in a deal brokered with the help of former US president Donald Trump’s administration, making the North African country the fourth Arab state to strike a normalization deal with the regime. The others were the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

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