Morocco’s Justice and Development party confirms support for PM Othmani

The Moroccan Justice and Development party confirmed on Thursday its support for Secretary-General and Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani, after he was criticised for signing a joint declaration of normalisation with Israel.

This came in a statement published by the party on its website, following a meeting of its general secretariat, concerning the party’s position on recent developments including normalisation with Israel.

The statement announced: “The party supports Secretary-General and Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani in fulfilling his political and governmental responsibilities as needed, along with the support and trust bestowed to King Mohammed VI.”

The party also stressed: “The importance of supporting the Moroccan monarch in the measures taken to strengthen Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, and the country’s firm positions in favour of the Palestinian cause.”

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This is the first statement released by the party regarding the matter, after Prime Minister Othmani signed the normalisation agreement with Israel, prompting party members and activists to demand his resignation.

On Tuesday, Othmani signed a joint declaration between Morocco, Israel and the US during the first visit of an official Israeli-US delegation to the capital, Rabat.

According to the declaration, Morocco and Israel agreed to: “Continue their cooperation in several areas, reopen two representative offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv, resume official ties immediately and establish full diplomatic relations.”

On 10 December, Morocco declared its intention to resume official relations with Israel, after suspending relations in 2002.

On the same day, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, which has been disputed between Rabat and the Polisario Front for decades.

The decision to resume official relations with Israel sparked a wave of anger among members of the Justice and Development party which, since its creation in 1967, has refused to normalise relations with Israel.

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