Morocco joins other Arab nations agreeing to normalize Israel ties

[webfact]

Morocco joins other Arab nations agreeing to normalize Israel ties

By Steve Holland

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman light the first Hanukkah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City during the the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, December 10, 2020. Emil Salman/Pool via REUTERS

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalize relations in a deal brokered with U.S. help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.

 

It joins the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan in beginning to forge deals with Israel, driven in part by U.S.-led efforts to present a united front against Iran and roll back Tehran's regional influence.

 

In a departure from longstanding U.S. policy, President Donald Trump agreed as part of the deal to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara, a desert region where a decades-old territorial dispute has pitted Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state.

 

President-elect Joe Biden, due to succeed Trump on Jan. 20, will face a decision whether to accept the U.S. deal on the Western Sahara, which no other Western nation has done. A Biden spokesman declined to comment.

 

While Biden is expected to move U.S. foreign policy away from Trump's "America First" posture, the Democrat has indicated he will continue the pursuit of what Trump calls "the Abraham Accords" between Israel and Arab and Muslim nations.

 

Trump sealed the Israel-Morocco accord in a phone call with Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Thursday, the White House said.

 

"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!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

 

Mohammed told Trump that Morocco intends to facilitate direct flights for Israeli tourists to and from Morocco, according to a statement from Morocco's royal court.

 

"This will be a very warm peace. Peace has never - the light of peace on this Hanukkah day has never - shone brighter than today in the Middle East," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to a Jewish eight-day holiday starting on Thursday night.

 

Palestinians have been critical of the normalization deals, saying Arab countries have set back the cause of peace by abandoning a longstanding demand that Israel give up land for a Palestinian state before it can receive recognition.

 

Egypt and UAE issued statements welcoming Morocco's decision. Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979.

 

"This step, a sovereign move, contributes to strengthening our common quest for stability, prosperity, and just and lasting peace in the region," Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, wrote on Twitter.

 

But Senator Jim Inhofe, the Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate's Armed Services Committee, denounced Trump's "shocking and deeply disappointing" decision to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara. Inhofe said people living in the area should vote in a referendum to decide their future.

 

"The president has been poorly advised by his team. He could have made this deal without trading the rights of a voiceless people," Inhofe said in a statement.

 

A senior U.S. official said Trump knew about Inhofe's opposition to recognizing Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara. But Inhofe's argument lost ground with the president when the senator refused to hold up the annual defense spending bill when Trump demanded it be used to repeal a law granting liability protection to tech companies, the official said.

 

The Morocco deal could be among the last that Trump's team, led by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and U.S. envoy Avi Berkowitz, will negotiate before giving way to Biden's incoming administration.

 

Kushner told reporters on a conference call it was inevitable that Saudi Arabia would eventually strike a similar deal with Israel. A U.S. official said the Saudis were not likely to act until after Biden takes office, and even then there would be strong internal opposition that could block such a move in the near term.

 

FULL DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Under the agreement, Morocco will establish full diplomatic relations and resume official contacts with Israel.

 

"They are going to reopen their liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv immediately with the intention to open embassies.

 

And they are going to promote economic cooperation between Israeli and Moroccan companies," Kushner told Reuters.

 

Trump's agreement to change U.S. policy on the Western Sahara was the linchpin for getting Morocco's agreement and a major shift away from a mostly neutral stance.

 

In Rabat, Morocco's royal court said Washington will open a consulate in Western Sahara as part of Morocco's deal with Israel.

 

A White House proclamation said the United States believes that an independent Sahrawi state is "not a realistic option for resolving the conflict and that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution."

 

"We urge the parties to engage in discussions without delay, using Morocco's autonomy plan as the only framework to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution," it said.

 

Washington had supported a 1991 ceasefire between Morocco and the Western Sahara's Polisario Front independence movement that called for a referendum to resolve the issue. Last month, after a border incident, the Polisario pulled out of that deal and announced a return to armed struggle.

 

A representative of the Polisario Front said it "regrets highly" the U.S. change in policy, which it called "strange but not surprising."

 

"This will not change an inch of the reality of the conflict and the right of the people of Western Sahara to self determination," the Polisario's Europe representative Oubi Bchraya said.

 

(Reporting by Steve Holland; additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Jeff Mason and Patricia Zengerle in Washington, Ahmed El Jechtimi in Rabat, and Stephen Farrell and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Howard Goller and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-11

 

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[TopDeadSenter]

I am really going to miss the good news and peace deals in the MENA region. It was, as we remember before Trump, a lost cause and a hopeless and worsening tragedy. Incredible effort and achievement by one man and his select team. Showing the career diplomats how it's really done.

[Sujo]

Thats a really big win for morocco.

[Sujo]

On a personal note i had a meeting at the morocco embassy in kl 2 weeks ago. They are making a big push to have enhanced inter govt ties with more countries.

 

This israel decision may have hurt what we were working on but im yet to discuss it in depth. Im not involved in the decision making but just feel it is a setback. 

 

But this decision to have diplomatic relations with israel is really nothing compared to what morocco gained by having US agree to its rule over western sahara. Thats a huge quid pro quo for morocco given all they had to do is give some lip service.

 

 

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I am really going to miss the good news and peace deals in the MENA region. It was, as we remember before Trump, a lost cause and a hopeless and worsening tragedy. Incredible effort and achievement by one man and his select team. Showing the career diplomats how it's really done.

Trump cs basically bought this deal by agreeing to give the Western Sahara to Morocco.  I doubt the US should be doing things like that, let alone on its own. The US doesn't care about the Western Sahara but does about the Israeli part of the deal, so easy decision for them. He bought it, and is paying with something that is not his.

[simple1]

2 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I am really going to miss the good news and peace deals in the MENA region. It was, as we remember before Trump, a lost cause and a hopeless and worsening tragedy. Incredible effort and achievement by one man and his select team. Showing the career diplomats how it's really done.

 

Nonsense - trump admin made a unilateral decision which disenfranchises the people of the Western Sahara. The outcome of trump's self serving decision will likely lead to more conflict and suffering

[Mavideol]

2 hours ago, Sujo said:

Thats a really big win for morocco.

yes that's correct, because of that Morocco now can claim Western Sahara it's part of their territory which is incorrect and not recognized by the UN

[Mavideol]

as usual, Trump politic stunts as Israel and Morocco have been dealing/trading since 1948.... although Morocco didn't recognize Israel as a state, just Benjamin & Don stunt, nothing absolutely nothing to brag about

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel–Morocco_relations

While Morocco did not recognize Israel as a state, the relationship between the two was secretly maintained after the establishment of Israel in 1948

Edited December 11, 2020 by Mavideol

[Jeffr2]

16 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I am really going to miss the good news and peace deals in the MENA region. It was, as we remember before Trump, a lost cause and a hopeless and worsening tragedy. Incredible effort and achievement by one man and his select team. Showing the career diplomats how it's really done.

You really need a better source for your news.  This is NOT a good deal for Western Sahara.  They weren't involved in this and the indigenous people there are now going to suffer the consequences of this. 

 

Trump and his Jewish son in law are pushing these deals.  Many of which are super dodgy and not really going to last.

 

How about focus on the virus?

[Jeffr2]

https://www.ft.com/content/1ee09602-7f01-4227-a787-0b3c07728cf8

 

Quote

A forgotten conflict on the fringes of the Sahara desert is heating up — and Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory is set to make it worse.

 

The US recognition of Rabat’s claim to Western Sahara — in return for Morocco’s normalisation of relations with Israel — risks aggravating fighting between the Polisario Front, which wants independence for the region, and Moroccan troops manning a 2,700km-long fortified sand wall that divides the desert land, diplomats and analysts say.

 

[Thorgal]

Western Sahara has been dealt like a Trump casino.

[kamahele]

18 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I am really going to miss the good news and peace deals in the MENA region. It was, as we remember before Trump, a lost cause and a hopeless and worsening tragedy. Incredible effort and achievement by one man and his select team. Showing the career diplomats how it's really done.

That's funny. All of the nations that have now officially normalized relations with Israel were just putting to paper the relationships they already had with Israel so Trump could take credit.

[Cutty Shark]

I have long been interested in the Spanish Sahara and the fate of that land after Spain gave up its claim in 1976.  I’m glad to see that others on this forum have also expressed their concern. 

 

The militarized sand berm which divides the territory remains after Cold War physical divisions in other continents have fallen.  The sadness of the strife between Morocco and the native Sahrawi people continues.

[JCauto]

When Senator James Inhofe is standing up for the rights of the disenfranchised of the Western Sahara the world truly has gone crazy.

[nauseus]

On 12/12/2020 at 3:13 PM, JCauto said:

When Senator James Inhofe is standing up for the rights of the disenfranchised of the Western Sahara the world truly has gone crazy.

 

Not sure about the relevance of what the rest of the world is doing but it is good that Sen Inhofe has spoken up. In any event, this development will not help to end the dispute in Western Sahara. 

[Jeffr2]

25 minutes ago, nauseus said:

 

Not sure about the relevance of what the rest of the world is doing but it is good that Sen Inhofe has spoken up. In any event, this development will not help to end the dispute in Western Sahara. 

It's also not permanent and can be over ridden by Biden.  Which he may very well do.

[nauseus]

22 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

It's also not permanent and can be over ridden by Biden.  Which he may very well do.

 

It is not a US deal, so any reverse would need to be done by Morocco or Israel.

[stevenl]

11 minutes ago, nauseus said:

 

It is not a US deal, so any reverse would need to be done by Morocco or Israel.

So who is giving the Western Sahara to Morocco then, Israel?

[nauseus]

12 minutes ago, stevenl said:

So who is giving the Western Sahara to Morocco then, Israel?

 

Of course not. The deal I am talking about is the Moroccan-Israeli agreement. If the US decides to withdraw recognition of Moroccan rule over Western Sahara in the future then that would not necessarily mean a reversal of this new Moroccan-Israeli agreement.

[stevenl]

6 minutes ago, nauseus said:

 

Of course not. The deal I am talking about is the Moroccan-Israeli agreement. If the US decides to withdraw recognition of Moroccan rule over Western Sahara in the future then that would not necessarily mean a reversal of this new Moroccan-Israeli agreement.

Which is part of this deal.

 

Quote

In a departure from longstanding U.S. policy, President Donald Trump agreed as part of the deal to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara, a desert region where a decades-old territorial dispute has pitted Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state.

 

[nauseus]

5 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Which is part of this deal.

 

 

 

In Rabat, Morocco's royal court said Washington will open a consulate in Western Sahara as part of Morocco's deal with Israel.

[stevenl]

20 minutes ago, nauseus said:

 

In Rabat, Morocco's royal court said Washington will open a consulate in Western Sahara as part of Morocco's deal with Israel.

See my earlier quote 'as part of the deal'. Unless you think USA is giving something away with which they have nothing to do? Which is one of the points being made. US should not be giving Western Sahara to Morocco. They have no say over the western Sahara, it not theirs to give away, it should not be part of this deal.

[nauseus]

4 hours ago, stevenl said:

See my earlier quote 'as part of the deal'. Unless you think USA is giving something away with which they have nothing to do? Which is one of the points being made. US should not be giving Western Sahara to Morocco. They have no say over the western Sahara, it not theirs to give away, it should not be part of this deal.

 

And see my earlier quote at the bottom of page one. 

[bendejo]

On 12/12/2020 at 12:13 AM, JCauto said:

When Senator James Inhofe is standing up for the rights of the disenfranchised of the Western Sahara the world truly has gone crazy.

Veteran hard-_ssed conservative senators do not do a thing without some outside motivation.  The question is who is paying motivating him.

And hey, we're talking about Mid-East politics here (which includes north Africa), all of this can be blown away like sand in the wind in a moment.

 

 

[Jeffr2]

13 hours ago, nauseus said:

 

It is not a US deal, so any reverse would need to be done by Morocco or Israel.

Ummmm...the US is recognizing Morocco's rights over Western Sahara.  Biden will be president soon and can undo this.  He probably won't, but he could.  And in the end, it's not helping anything other than Trump's image.

 

https://www.vox.com/2020/12/10/22167665/morocco-israel-trump-normalization-western-sahara
 

Quote

 

Trump changed US policy to make it happen.

 

The US will recognize Morocco’s decades-long claim on Western Sahara. In exchange, Morocco will openly recognize Israel.

 

But the Sahrawi people won’t take too kindly to the announcement, experts on the decades-long dispute say. “This hasty decision to put weight behind Morocco’s claim to ownership will have deleterious effects for Sahrawi and for hopes of resolving the conflict in a peaceful and lasting manner,” Rice University’s Kelsey Norman told me.

 

 

[Jeffr2]

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/experts-react-what-the-morocco-israel-deal-means-for-the-middle-east/

 

Morocco can claim victory, but potential conflict looms

 

“The announcement of the normalization of relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the state of Israel is another positive step toward decreasing tensions in the MENA region, at least on the surface. The quid pro quo in this latest case, nevertheless, casts doubt on the agreement’s ability to achieve de-escalation, since the terms might well ignite a new conflict. In fact, with his recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara territory, President Trump may provoke an armed reaction by the Polisario front in Western Sahara, and by its supporter, the Algerian state. Tensions in the area have been on the rise for some time, but this event may accelerate a renewed clash between the two Maghrebi states. In other words, this normalization in exchange for recognition of Moroccan claims over the Western Sahara will be a success for the Moroccan monarchy if it does not plunge it into a military confrontation with Algeria.”

[4reaL]

If you can't beat'em

Join'em

 

'nuff said 

[TopDeadSenter]

The heroic achievements do not stop with this Israel/Morocco deal. Trump also has 2 new deals to announce soon. Honestly, this is stunning. Why did it take a non globalist career politician to sort out the Israel mess?

 

 

"The diplomatic source identified Oman and Indonesia as two countries with which talks have advanced and with whom normalization could be announced before US President Donald Trump leaves office on January 20."

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/oman-indonesia-likely-next-countries-to-forge-ties-with-israel-651962

 

Incredible. Thank you Sir.

[Jeffr2]

3 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

The heroic achievements do not stop with this Israel/Morocco deal. Trump also has 2 new deals to announce soon. Honestly, this is stunning. Why did it take a non globalist career politician to sort out the Israel mess?

 

 

"The diplomatic source identified Oman and Indonesia as two countries with which talks have advanced and with whom normalization could be announced before US President Donald Trump leaves office on January 20."

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/oman-indonesia-likely-next-countries-to-forge-ties-with-israel-651962

 

Incredible. Thank you Sir.

Why?  Because none of these deals are long lasting.  They're just done for show, and in the end, may actually cause more harm than good.  As we all know, except Trump's cult members, it's all about Trump.

 

https://apnews.com/article/peace-process-israel-iran-united-arab-emirates-jerusalem-c87ca011c2cd4321d587e9684dfb84e1

Trump’s Mideast deals tout ‘peace’ where there was never war

Over the last three years, Trump has cut off aid to the Palestinians, recognized contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, dropped the longstanding U.S. opposition to Israeli settlements and released a Mideast plan that overwhelmingly favors Israel.

The breakdown of the longstanding Arab consensus that recognition only be granted in return for territorial concessions has meanwhile left the Palestinians arguably more weak, isolated and demoralized than at any point in their history.

But rather than cowing Palestinian leaders into submission, those moves have only made them more defiant. President Mahmoud Abbas officially cut all ties to Israel and the U.S. in May and said the Palestinians would no longer be bound by any past agreements. The Palestinians have rejected the UAE and Bahrain deals as a betrayal of their cause and insist no other country has the right to negotiate on their behalf.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Jeffr2

[Boomer6969]

Trump's only significant achievement.

 

And please, don't mention the economy as I don't want to highjack the thread and have the answer ready anyhow.