Morocco to Normalize Ties With Israel
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Morocco becomes the fourth Middle Eastern nation in the past four months to sign a peace accord with the world’s only Jewish state.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that yet another country has agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel. The Kingdom of Morocco will be only the sixth predominantly-Muslim Middle Eastern nation to do so.
“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!” President Trump wrote on Twitter.
Morocco is the fourth nation to formalize relations with Israel in the past four months, a tremendous accomplishment for the Trump administration and for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“This will be a very warm peace. Peace has never- the light of peace on this Hanukkah day has never- shone brighter than today in the Middle East,” said Netanyahu in a statement. The eight-day celebration of Hanukkah began Thursday night, and with it came the news that the Jewish holiday is being openly celebrated in the United Arab Emirates this year for the first time.
As part of the Morocco-Israel agreement, the United States has agreed to recognize Morocco’s long-standing claim over the Western Sahara region, which has been in dispute for decades and is, as yet, not formally recognized by the United Nations as part of Morocco.
“Today, I signed a proclamation recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara. Morocco’s serious, credible, and realistic autonomy proposal is the ONLY basis for a just and lasting solution for enduring peace and prosperity!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Trump followed up with another tweet citing Morocco’s recognition of the United States as an independent nation a year after the U.S. declared independence from Britain in 1776, writing, “Morocco recognized the United States in 1777. It is thus fitting we recognize their sovereignty over the…