Morocco’s balancing act on Israel and Palestine
Moroccans protest against the "deal of the century" and want the government, which recently took possession of Israeli spy drones, to do more to aid the Palestinian cause.
On Feb. 9, the broad, sunny boulevard running through the center of Rabat, Morocco, overflowed with protesters. Crowded between newly whitewashed facades and an imposing parade of palm trees, they numbered well over 10,000 (one attendee estimated tens of thousands).
Adorned with Palestinian keffiyehs and images of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque, this mass of Moroccans had come out to condemn US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” peace plan that Palestinians see as inflammatory.
The protesters' main targets were Washington and Tel Aviv, but they also had harsh words for Moroccan political leaders they believed responded too favorably to Trump’s plan.
Rabat’s position “doesn’t reflect the position of the Moroccan people,” Youssef Raissouni, a leader of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, told Al-Monitor. “Moroccan people believe in the rights of the Palestinians, and the state believes in its interests, and its interests are with the US leadership.”
