On Thursday, June 8, hundreds of Moroccans staged protests against the ongoing visit of the speaker of the Israeli parliament (Knesset), Amir Ohana. Protests held in the capital Rabat were led by pro-Palestine activists and the Moroccan Front against Normalization.
Ohana arrived in Morocco on Wednesday at the invitation of the speaker of the Moroccan parliament Rachid Talbi Al-Alami, after their respective offices reportedly established contact with one another in the preceding days. A number of Moroccan political parties have also opposed the visit by the Israeli government official. Ohana will reportedly visit the Moroccan parliament this week.
The protests against his visit were held under the banner, “Palestine is a trust, and normalization is betrayal.” Protesters in Rabat chanted slogans calling the normalization “shameful” and asked the government to cut all ties with the Israeli “apartheid state.” They also raised slogans against the speaker, calling him a “war criminal.” They held up posters and placards which read, among other things, “No normalization with the occupier, resistance is the solution”, “From Rabat and Palestine, one people, not two”, and “Morocco is a free land, Ohana get out.” Protesters expressed their support and solidarity with Palestinians and called for a free Palestine. As per reports, an Israeli flag was also burnt at the site of the protest.
Abdelhamid Amine, a member of the Moroccan Front in support of Palestine and against normalization, said while speaking to news outlets regarding the protests, “we cannot accept that the head of the Israeli Parliament can come here with total impunity, even though the Israeli Parliament is currently an extreme right-wing parliament, dominated by fascists, and is coming here to be received by the Moroccan Parliament.”
Protesters urged all political parties to take part in the boycott if the speaker visits the parliament.
The Moroccan government, which signed the Israel-Morocco normalization agreement mediated by the Donald Trump administration in 2020, has deepened ties with the state of Israel despite widespread domestic opposition. Reports noted that the two sides are keen on improving their military and security relations and commercial ties in the fields of tourism and bilateral trade. This was once again made clear during the speaker’s visit when he endorsed the two countries strengthening their security and other relations, saying that his visit was “history being made before our eyes.” Several recent reports have noted that the current far-right extremist government in Israel is mulling extending its recognition to the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, in contravention of international law.
