Israel recognizes Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara region
Jul 17, 2023
Tel Aviv [Israel], July 18 : Israel has recognised the sovereignty of Morocco over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, Al Jazeera reported on Monday citing the Moroccan government and a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office.
Rabat said that Israel is also considering opening a consulate in Dakhla.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed Israel’s position in a letter to King Mohammed VI.
Morocco has had control of the territory, but had little international recognition, since 1975 after the end of Spanish colonial rule.
The Algerian-backed Polisario Front demands an independent state in Western Sahara. In 2020, then-US President Donald Trump recognised Morocco’s claim to the territory in return for its partial upgrade of relations with Israel.
The Israeli position “will be sent to the United Nations, regional and international organisations … as well as all the states Israel has diplomatic relations with”, the Morocco royal statement quoted the letter as saying.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said recognition of the Western Sahara as Moroccan territory “will strengthen relations between the countries” and advance regional stability.
Twenty-eight other countries – mostly African and Arab – have opened consulates in the Western Saharan cities of Dakhla or Laayoune in what Morocco sees as tangible support for its rule of the territory, as per Al Jazeera.
In 2020, Morocco agreed to normalise relations with Israel in a US-brokered deal. As part of the agreement, Trump agreed to recognise Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara.
Morocco became the fourth country to strike a deal aimed at normalising relations with Israel after United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, Al Jazeera reported.
