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Moroccans protest hoisting of Israeli flag at UN summit

The Moroccan association for supporting the nation's causes said the hoisting of the Israeli flag in Morocco was another step towards normalisation, which the Moroccan government denied.

November 10, 2016 at 8:45 pm

Hundreds of Moroccans took to the streets yesterday to protest the raising of the Israeli flag next to 195 others at the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP22) conference in Marrakesh.

The protestors, mainly from several pro-Palestinian organisations, rallied outside the Moroccan parliament in Rabat against the flag hoisting.

“[We are] opposed to all forms of normalisation with Israel under any pretext whatsoever”, the National Working Group for Palestine stated in a statement.

“The Israeli flag at COP22 means Morocco symbolically recognises the state of Israel. It’s unacceptable,” one protester told Agence France Presse.

The Moroccan association for supporting the nation’s causes said the hoisting of the Israeli flag in Morocco was another step towards normalisation, which the Moroccan government denied.

“Morocco was one of the first countries to support Palestine’s right to an independent state and to become an observer member of the United Nations,” Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar stated in response.

One of the coalition’s organisations which took part in the protest dismissed the government’s statement. It said, “Hosting representatives of the Zionist entity in Morocco and raising its flag on our soil contradicts the values and principles of universal human rights.”