Israel’s relations with Morocco were already normal, said Moroccan FM
In an interview with the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Sunday, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said that ‘Israel’s relations with Morocco are special and can’t be compared to the relations that ‘Israel’ has with any other Arab country.
He said that Israel’s relations with Morocco were already normal before the normalization deal was announced.
“From our perspective, we aren’t talking about normalization because relations were already normal,” Bourita said.
He added, “We’re 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.”
He also noted that Morocco has an important history with the “Jewish community,” adding that last year, 70,000 Israelis came to visit Morocco.
“Morocco has an important history with the Jewish community, a history that is special in the Arab world. It’s my understanding that just this past year 70,000 Israelis came to visit here.”
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced Morocco’s decision to normalize ties with Israel, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to do so this year.
Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations – a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2020
