“Should we, to keep the Sahara, cede land in the north” to the Israelis? This question is from a Moroccan active on social networks in the middle of the war in Gaza. And it is relevant.
In a video posted on TikTok, the influencer addresses a taboo subject in Morocco: that of Israelis who return to the kingdom to claim land and other property that they claim to legally own. The phenomenon has, it seems, accelerated since the normalization of relations between Israel and Morocco.
The two countries signed an agreement in 2020 to normalize their relations under the aegis of former US President Donald Trump. In return, Morocco obtained American recognition of its “sovereignty” over the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
Hence the very subtle questioning of the Moroccan activist who makes the link between the lands that the kingdom hopes to gain in the south and those that the population must lose in return in the north in favor of the Israelis.
Morocco has a large Jewish community, part of which has emigrated to Israel. Thanks to normalization, many Jews of Moroccan origin returned to the kingdom to discover or revisit the land of their origins as part of tourist trips.
Some, however, returned with the firm intention of reclaiming belongings they left behind when they left for Israel several decades ago. These assets are in most cases real estate and land.
Morocco – Israel: Moroccans fear being dispossessed by Israelis
“The Israelis want to establish colonies in Morocco. The effects of colonization are starting to appear,” denounces the influencer.
In the video shared thousands of times, owners testify that they have received eviction orders from homes they have lived in for 40 or 50 years.
People had been living with their families in peace for several decades, then Israelis suddenly showed up and ordered them to leave immediately.
Even when they presented proper property deeds and receipts for the taxes they paid, the so-called “real” owners refused to listen. This is the case of this family from Tangier who were asked to free up a large farm. “It’s my land, it’s 14 hectares,” the Israeli told them, whose family emigrated to the Jewish state since its creation in 1948.
According to the influencer, the developers who sold these lands and houses to Moroccans have released all responsibility. Residents carried out protest actions, to no avail.
But they don’t intend to give in. “Do you think we’re in a jungle? These are our possessions and we will not let them go. The king’s prosecutor must intervene. A foreigner cannot come and expropriate us like that in our country,” proclaims the author of the video who also launches an appeal to “free Moroccans” to “move” in this matter.
