On Wednesday, the foreign ministries of Morocco and Israel signed three agreements, marking the first visit by a senior official from the Jewish state since relations were repaired last year.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Nasser Bourita signed agreements on political consultations, aviation, and culture.
According to Lapid, the agreements will “bring innovation and opportunities to our countries for years to come for the benefit of our children — and their children.”
Last year, Israel and Morocco negotiated an accord following US President Donald Trump’s acceptance of Morocco’s contested sovereignty in Western Sahara.
“We are restoring friendship and peace today,” Lapid continued.
Morocco became the fourth Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel last year, following the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan.
The action infuriated Palestinians, as it disrupted a long-standing Arab agreement that no normalization should occur until Israel agrees to a comprehensive and long-term peace.
During Bourita’s meetings with Lapid, the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories was discussed, he added.
“King Mohammed VI insists that breaking the current impasse and resuming negotiations is the best way to reach a settlement based on two states living side by side on the 1967 borders,” Bourita said.
Following the reopening of relations, the sultan assured Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas that Morocco would remain committed to the Palestinian cause.
“It is vital that immediate efforts be taken to restore confidence and calm, as well as to establish a political horizon for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Bourita stated.
Lapid claimed that he would prefer to focus on normalizing Israel’s relations with Arab countries.
He said, “Something is going on in this neighborhood.”
On Thursday, Lapid will open Israel’s diplomatic post in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.
