From the Liveblog of
Sunday, February 11, 2024
Thousands protest in Morocco against ties with ‘genocidal’ Israel
Thousands of Moroccans took to the streets of their capital today to call for an end to their country’s ties with Israel, which they denounced for “genocide” in Gaza.
In late 2020, Morocco established diplomatic ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords brokered by the United States, which saw similar moves by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
As part of the deal, Rabat received Washington’s recognition of its claim to sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began on October 7, triggered by Hamas’s shock attack on Israel, several large-scale demonstrations in the North African kingdom have called for the abrogation of the normalization deal.
“Normalization is treason,” and “Stop the massacre,” read banners protesters carried in front of Morocco’s parliament in the center of Rabat.
A march in Morocco in support of Palestine and Gaza. pic.twitter.com/4OHeuJkxPh
— Warfare Analysis (@warfareanalysis) February 11, 2024
AFP journalists estimated more than 10,000 people joined the rally, some of them carrying an immense Palestinian flag.
The crowd size matched that of a similar November protest in Morocco’s commercial capital Casablanca.
The demonstration was organized by leftist parties and Islamist movements.
Morocco has officially denounced what it said was “flagrant violations of the provisions of international law” by Israel in its war against Hamas, but has not given any indication that normalization with Israel would be reversed.
The unprecedented October 7 attack by thousands of terrorists led by Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas resulted in massacre in Israel of about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction of 253 hostages, 29 of whom have been confirmed dead.
Vowing to eliminate Hamas, Israel has responded with a bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza that the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry says has killed over 28,000 people. These figures cannot be independently verified, are believed to include fatalities caused by failed rocket fire by Gaza terror groups, and do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel says it has killed 10,000 Hamas gunmen in Gaza, as well as 1,000 terrorists in Israel on October 7.
The Times of Israel Community.