Israel tells Algeria to mind own business after severing ties with Morocco

Israel says today that Algeria should focus on its own problems a day after Algiers severed ties with Morocco, the latest Arab nation to normalize relations with the Jewish state.

Algeria says that it had cut diplomatic relations with Morocco because of “hostile actions,” following months of resurgent tensions between the North African rivals.

Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra also accused Foreign Minister Yair Lapid of “senseless accusations and veiled threats,” after Israel’s top diplomat expressed “worries about the role played by Algeria in the region.”

On his first visit to Morocco since the countries normalized ties, Lapid said his concerns were based on fears that Algeria was “getting close to Iran”, as well as “the campaign it waged against the admission of Israel as an observer member of the African Union.”

An Israeli diplomatic source calls Lamamra’s allegations “unfounded and without interest — they bring nothing new.”

“Algeria should focus on its own problems, serious economic problems especially, so its citizens can live the life they deserve, rather than trying to harm their neighbor and involve Israel in its disputes,” the source told AFP.

“What matters are the very good relations between Israel and Morocco.”