Israel–Morocco: resumption of relations

The challenge

Morocco and Israel never fought each other. They had low-level official relations, which Morocco cut during the Second Intifada; nearly two decades passed before they were resumed¹.

Morocco had another central interest: international recognition of its sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory where the Algerian-backed Polisario Front demands an independent state².

The road there

1. 10 December 2020The resumption of relations is announced; the United States recognises Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara³.
2. 22 December 2020The King receives an American–Israeli delegation in Rabat, and the joint declaration is signed⁴.
3. 24 November 2021Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz signs a defence memorandum of understanding with Morocco in Rabat⁵.
4. 17 July 2023Netanyahu tells the King in a letter that Israel recognises Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara².
5. January 2026The Joint Military Committee meets for the third time and a work plan for 2026 is signed⁶.
6. 16 September 2026Agreement in New York to raise the missions to embassy level⁷.

The people

Led

King Mohammed VI of Morocco · Benjamin Netanyahu

Signed

Jared Kushner · Meir Ben-Shabbat

Mediated

Donald Trump · Jared Kushner

What was agreed

• Resumption of full official contacts and establishment of full diplomatic relations³.
• Reopening of the liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv⁴.
• Direct flights, including flights by Israeli airlines carrying members of the Moroccan Jewish community and tourists⁴.
• Economic cooperation between the two countries⁴.
• The declaration recalls the US proclamation recognising Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara³. That is a separate, unilateral American step, not an obligation between Israel and Morocco.
• Who signed: Morocco's head of government, Saad Eddine El Otmani; Jared Kushner for the United States; and Meir Ben-Shabbat for Israel⁴.

Read the document

The geography

The hard decisions

• US recognition on Western Sahara changed a decades-old American policy that had backed a UN-sponsored referendum⁵.
• On the same day the King stressed that Morocco's position on the Palestinian question had not changed: two states living side by side in peace and security, and safeguarding the Islamic character of Jerusalem⁴.
• Public opinion: support for normalization in Morocco fell from 31% in the 2021–2022 survey to 13% in the 2023–2024 survey, according to the Arab Barometer⁸.

Where accounts differ

According to Morocco

This is a resumption of relations that existed in the past, not accession to the Abraham Accords framework⁷.

According to The United States

The joint declaration is one of the Abraham Accords documents, and is published as such on the State Department website⁹.

According to The Polisario Front, which is backed by Algeria

Western Sahara should be an independent state, and the Front opposes recognition of Moroccan sovereignty².

According to Palestinians

The normalization agreements are a betrayal that weakened their leverage with Israel⁵.

What changed in real life

• Since October 2023 official visits and tourism have suffered, while trade and security cooperation have continued, according to the Institute for National Security Studies¹.
• About 1,200 visitors from Morocco entered Israel in 2025, according to the Heritage Foundation's annual report¹⁰.

What remains open

• The gap between palace policy and the street: since October 2023 there have been almost weekly protests in Morocco calling for ties to be cut¹. After the upgrade was agreed, the Moroccan Front for Support of Palestine and Against Normalization announced three days of protest across the country¹².
• The status of Western Sahara remains disputed, and the Polisario Front rejects the recognitions².