The rapprochement between Morocco and Israel has been taking great strides since the normalization of relations in December 2020.General Kochavi was received on July 19, 2022 by Abdellatif Loudiyi, Minister Delegate for Defense, for the first official visit by an Israeli Chief of Staff to the Cherifian Kingdom, the Israeli army said in a statement.
“This visit made it possible to examine the opportunities to further develop the axes of cooperation relating mainly to training, the transfer of technologies as well as the sharing of experiences and expertise”
Statement from the General Staff of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces
Without going into the details of the projects, the two parties expressed their desire to consolidate their relations “to serve the objectives of peace and stability in our region“, according to the Moroccan press release. This partnership is based on a framework agreement signed in November 2021 in Rabat by the Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz. The first of its kind between Israel and an Arab country, recalls, Maroc Hebdo. “The Moroccan army benefits (…) from Israeli military expertise in armament, especially in the use of drones which gave it a decisive advantage over the Polisario Front in its guerrilla warfare launched in November 2020”specifies the site of the Moroccan weekly.
The agreement provides, among other things, for cooperation between intelligence services, the development of industrial links, the purchase of armaments and joint training. Israeli observers participated for the first time in late June in the “African Lion 2022” military exercise, the largest on the African continent, co-organized by Morocco and the United States.
At 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.
The strategic alliance between Rabat and Tel Aviv, which took place under the auspices of Washington, arouses mistrust in Algeria, Morocco’s regional rival and supporter of the Palestinian cause and the Front P.