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Moroccan officials arrive in Israel to reopen liaison office

An administrative Moroccan delegation arrived in Israel to reopen the liaison office following normalization of ties between the two countries.
Chief economist at Israel's Ministry of Finance Shira Greenberg (L) and Morocco's Director General Of the Customs and Indirect Tax Administration at the Ministry of Economy and Finance Nabil Lakhdar exchange a signed agreement at the Royal Palace in the Moroccan capital Rabat on December 22, 2020, on the first Israel-Morocco direct commercial flight, marking the latest US-brokered diplomatic normalisation deal between the Jewish state and an Arab country. -  (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENN

A delegation of Moroccan officials landed today in Israel. Israel’s military radio reported that the administrative delegation arrived to the country in order to inspect the building that hosted in the late 1990s the Moroccan liaison office. Rabat had preserved the Tel Aviv office even after severing ties in 2000, when the second intifada broke out. Israel had also kept the offices it used in Rabat before ties were severed, and had paid over the years for their maintenance.

A Moroccan source had told i24news on Sunday that the Moroccan delegation "will work with Israeli counterparts on issues including launching direct flights between the two countries and establishing embassies." Other reports noted that the delegation is also expected to prepare the visit of a more senior Moroccan delegation. The senior delegation should arrive in Israel later, with the date still undetermined. The Moroccan officials were set to meet today in Jerusalem with Foreign Ministry officials, but are not scheduled for any public event.

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