What remains of Moroccan support for the Palestinian cause a few weeks after the normalization of relations with Israel? Despite the presence in power of the Islamist party PJD, historic support for the Palestinian struggle, nothing remains politically, confides Sputnik Kader Abderrahim, a specialist in the Maghreb, at the microphone.
In Morocco, the normalization of relations with Israel is still making waves. Sometimes even within the government and the ruling party. This agreement prompted the Justice and Development Party (PJD), in power for almost ten years, to sign a text that goes against the positions the party has always defended.
To those who criticize the PJD for having signed the agreement with the Hebrew state, the Moroccan Minister of Employment, Mohamed Amekraz, has also replied “that they do not know the extreme importance of the Sahara issue [ occidental, editor’s note] for Moroccans. […] They do not know what this means to them and have no idea of the extent of the breakthrough made on this file during the peace agreement signed with Israel. “
And this after the same minister severely criticized the government and its leader Saad Dine El Otmani on December 12 for endorsing the deal with Israel. He was not the only one to attack this standardization. It was too much for some members of the ruling party: 10 individuals in the ranks of the PJD slammed the door on Thursday January 21.
The PJD and its electoral base have always been against rapprochement with Israel. The Islamist formation even made this refusal a battle horse to rally voters. The governing party therefore found itself in an awkward position when it had to approve this agreement decided by King Mohamed VI against the backdrop of a deal with the US over Western Sahara.
The Palestinian cause still alive for Moroccans
Especially since, when the diplomatic process began, the Moroccans wanted to take to the streets in Rabat. But the PJD-led government has banned all gatherings and deployed a large police force to ensure there is no turmoil there.
Le ministre M. Nasser Bourita et le Conseiller à la sécurité nationale de l’État d’Israël, M. Meir Ben Shabbat, ont eu aujourd’hui un entretien téléphonique portant sur la création de groupes de travail pour mettre en place des accords de coopération dans de nombreux domaines. https://t.co/iz4oxPP3Lf
— Maroc Diplomatie 🇲🇦 (@MarocDiplomatie) January 29, 2021
These mobilization attempts nevertheless describe a reality in Morocco: the Palestinian cause remains popular for part of the Muslim and Arabist populations, even if this support is difficult to quantify. To the point of becoming a strong political argument for those who oppose this normalization? Not according to Kader Abderrahim, author of Géopolitique du Maroc (Bibliomonde, 2018), who speaks at Sputnik’s microphone:
“At the moment, we do not even have any major challenge to the normalization of relations with Israel, neither in Morocco nor elsewhere in the Arab world. There were certainly demonstrations, but they were quickly banned. ”
“And I do not believe that this is the pretext or the reason that some of the Islamists of the PJD could invoke to contest the choices which are made in recognizing Israel,” he adds.
Opposing normalization, a sword in the water?
Our interlocutor reminds that, in the case of Morocco, this normalization is not a revolution. There were already diplomatic relations between the two countries after the Oslo accords, which had been broken after the Israeli operations against Gaza. It should also be remembered that the Jewish community present in Morocco since Antiquity is the largest in North Africa.
“The Islamists of the PJD who, in Morocco, contest this normalization do so mainly for electoral reasons, so as not to be cut off from their electorate, which is still favorable to the Palestinian cause. Particularly in view of the legislative elections which are looming in June this year, ”explains the Maghreb specialist.
He recalled that the Islamists who twice won the legislative elections “have so far been popular”.
Political lockdown
Kader Abderrahim believes that, apart from electoral goals, this fight would have no future in Morocco and in countries that have normalized their relations with Israel. At least under the current circumstances. And this, in large part because of the political lockdown within the kingdom, especially on international issues. “There is no consultation,” he asserts. The specialist recalls that the PJD Prime Minister, Saad Eddine El Othmani, “has always been fundamentally against this process”. Yet he solemnly endorsed the deal.
Especially since the latter contained a major advance for Morocco: the recognition of its sovereignty over Western Sahara by the United States. One more element which makes that the Palestinian cause is relegated to the background politically, even for the PJD.
“Regarding Western Sahara, the debate differs even if it is related. This is a crucial cause for Moroccans. Here again, we cannot put the Palestinian question before Moroccan national interests, ”concludes the geopolitologist.
