Palestinian groups slam Israeli Defence Chief’s visit to Morocco

Palestinian groups, on Thursday, denounced the visit of Israeli Defence Minister, Benny Gantz, to Morocco which witnessed the signing of military agreements, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Ismail Radwan, a prominent leader in Hamas, slammed the visit and called on Moroccans and their parties “to reject the visit and condemn it.”

Radwan called for “prosecuting Gantz and to bring him to International Criminal Court for his war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people.”

“Normalisation, whatsoever its level has reached, won’t give legitimacy to the (Israeli) occupation which will remain the sole enemy to our (Arab) nation,” he added.

The Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) slammed the military agreement between Morocco and Israel.

Gantz’s visit “represents a direct danger to the brotherly Moroccan people at first, then to the region entirely, especially brotherly Algeria which is targeted in its security and its territorial integrity,” it said.

Gantz arrived in Morocco late Tuesday for a two-day visit, the first by an Israeli Defence Minister to the North African country. His visit, however, has drawn criticism from human rights associations in Morocco.

During the visit, Morocco signed an agreement with Israel to purchase Israeli drones and “advanced weapons” systems.

On 10 December 2020, Israel and Morocco announced the resumption of diplomatic relations that were suspended in 2002, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to normalise relations with Israel in 2020 after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

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