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Israel Minister of Interior: We support Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara

June 22, 2022 at 11:49 pm

Israel’s Interior Minister and former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked attends the launch of the political party “Yemina” on 12 August 2019 in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan. [JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images]

The Israeli Minister of Interior, Ayelet Shaked confirmed Tuesday her country’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.

This came in a press statement she made after her talks with Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, in Rabat, which was published by the Maghreb Arabe Press.

“Israel confirms its support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara,” Shaked said.

She added that her talks with Bourita also tackled the close bilateral relations and the joint projects that the two countries will implement.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Moroccan Minister of Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, met with his Israeli counterpart, Ayelet Shaked, and they discussed developing the mechanisms of consultation on various issues of common interest.

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The Israeli Minister of Interior started an official visit to Morocco on Monday, for an indefinite period.

On 10 December, 2020, Israel and Morocco announced the resumption of diplomatic relations between them, after suspending the relations in 2000. The resumption caused wide rejection from Moroccan bodies and parties.

On 22 December, 2022, the Moroccan government signed a “joint declaration” with Israel and the United States during the first visit of an official Israeli-American delegation to the capital, Rabat.

Rabat insists on its right to the Western Sahara region, and it proposes an extended self-governance under its sovereignty as a solution to the issue, while the “Polisario Front” demands holding a referendum to decide the fate of the region. This proposal is supported by Algeria, which shelters displaced people fleeing from the region after Morocco regained it after the end of the Spanish occupation.