With Morocco-Israel deal, US looks to maintain role in peace accords
For the Trump administration, the renewal of ties between Israel and Morocco is first and foremost a reason to auto-congratulate and make speeches.
The joint Israeli-American delegation met this evening in Rabat with Moroccan King Mohammed VI. Israeli and Moroccan representatives are expected to sign tonight a series of cooperation agreements in the fields of water management, financial relations, investments, visa exemption and direct flights. The delegations are currently conducting talks on cooperation in the fields of tourism and agriculture. At the first stage, both countries agreed to reopen the respective liaison offices that operated between 1993 and 2000 in Rabat and Tel Aviv. Both countries have kept and maintained the buildings where the liaison offices were hosted despite the closures. Opening of embassies is expected at a later stage, probably within a few months.
Shortly after arrival in Rabat, Foreign Minister Director-General Alon Ushpiz and Foreign Ministry Chief of Staff Haim Regev met with senior officials within the Moroccan Foreign Ministry. Apart from meeting the king, the joint Israeli-American delegation is set to meet with Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani, government ministers and senior officials. The delegation is expected to come back to Israel late tonight or early Wednesday morning.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner arrived yesterday to Israel ahead of the trip and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After the meeting, Netanyahu tweeted "I want to thank President Donald Trump for his staunch support and leadership, for all that he has done for the State of Israel. I think we're all deeply indebted [to] him, deeply indebted to his great actions and his great leadership, and we think that these achievements will stand like these peace agreements." Netanyahu also complimented Kushner personally, tweeting, "I thank you Jared, and I want to thank all of you for assisting this great effort. We will never forget it. Thank you all."
Indeed, analysts say that Rabat’s agreement to renew ties with Jerusalem was achieved only after strong pressure from Washington and a series of American gestures, including on Western Sahara and several arms deals. According to some reports, Rabat would rather not have a public agreement signature ceremony at the White House similar to the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel, the Emirates and Bahrain on Sept. 15.
