US President Donald Trump has tweeted that Israel and Morocco have agreed to establish full diplomatic relations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to make an announcement on the matter at 19:15.
"Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations - a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East!- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2020," the president tweeted.
A diplomatic source in Jerusalem confirms that a breakthrough has indeed been achieved, and that Morocco will join the countries that have recently signed normalization agreements with Israel. He said that a mutual declaration of normalization had been agreed, and that it would cover diplomatic missions in both countries, direct flights, and economic and trade agreements. The source said that the agreement had mainly been brokered by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz.
Over the years, Morocco has stood out as an Arab country with a relatively moderate stance towards Israel. King Hassan II of Morocco supported reconciliation and compromise in the Israel-Palestinian dispute, and mediated between the sides in the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt and in negotiations with the Palestinians. Following the Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestinians in 1995, full diplomatic relations were established between Israel and Morocco, but in response to events in the second Palestinian intifada in 2020, Morocco broke of relations with Israel.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 10, 2020
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