First official visit by an Israeli army chief to Morocco

Published on: 07/19/2022 – 03:32 Israeli army chief Aviv Kochavi is the first chief of staff of the Cherifian kingdom to pay an official visit to Morocco. Arrived in Rabat on Monday, he will hold talks with senior military officials for three days. Israeli army chief Aviv Kochavi arrived in Morocco on Monday (July 18th) for talks with senior military officials as part of growing cooperation between the two states, military sources told AFP. This is the first official visit by an Israeli chief of staff to the Cherifian kingdom. During his three-day trip, Aviv Kochavi, former head of military intelligence, is to meet Abdellatif Loudiyi, deputy minister in charge of Defense, Lieutenant-General Belkheir Al-Farouq, Inspector General of the Royal Moroccan Forces (FAR) as well as military and security officials, according to an Israeli spokesperson. The rapprochement between Morocco and Israel has accelerated since the diplomatic normalization carried out in December 2020 within the framework of the Abraham Accords, a process between the Jewish State and several Arab countries, supported by Washington. Thus, for the first time, Israeli military observers took part in the end of June “African Lion 2022” military exercise, the largest on the African continent, co-organized by Morocco and the United States.>> To read: Western Sahara: the origins of the crisis between Spain and Morocco cAt the end of March, a delegation of senior Israeli officials made a discreet visit to Morocco – again a first – which resulted in the signing of a cooperation agreement, envisaging the creation of a joint military commission. In November 2021, the Israeli Minister of Defence, Benny Gantz, had signed a memorandum of understanding in Rabat which frames security relations with Morocco. The agreement notably provides for cooperation between intelligence services, the development of industrial links, the purchase of armaments and joint training. technological, economic, cultural and even sporting. A pro-Palestinian gathering At the start of the evening, around a hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested without incident in front of the parliament in Rabat against the visit of the Chief of Staff of “the Zionist army”. “He is there for real coordination in this new military axis, this new NATO in the Arab world that the Israelis, under the American umbrella, have created and of which Israel is the spearhead, and which will result in an increased risk of war,” Moroccan community activist Sion Assidon, a septuagenarian of Berber Jewish origin, told AFP. e plus the crowds. The normalization of relations with Israel was obtained in exchange for the recognition by the United States of the “Moroccanness” of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, considered the “first national cause” in Morocco.With AFP