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    Ramzy Baroud - The Price of Betraying Palestine: Morocco Challenges Normalization with Israel Archived Message

    Posted by sashimi on January 3, 2023, 10:42 am

    30 December 2022

    (quote)
    Two years ago, Morocco and Israel signed the US-brokered "Joint Declaration",
    thus officially recognizing Israel and instating diplomatic ties. Though other
    Arab countries had already done the same, the Moroccan official recognition of
    Apartheid Israel was particularly devastating for Palestinians.

    Years ago, a close Moroccan friend told me that the 'first time' he was arrested
    was during a solidarity protest for Palestine in Rabat which took place many
    years ago.

    The reference to the 'first time' indicated that he was arrested again, though
    mostly for other political activities, suggesting that Palestine, in many ways,
    has become a local struggle for many Moroccans.

    Whenever Moroccans protest for Palestine, they would do so in large numbers,
    sometimes in their millions. Such solidarity has historically served as the
    foundation of regional and global solidarity with the Palestinian struggle.

    Though ordinary Arabs have always considered Palestine a core struggle, the
    relationship between North Africans and Palestine is, in many ways, unique and
    rooted.

    Despite a strong push for normalization between Arab countries and Israel,
    countries like Algeria and Tunisia made it clear that no diplomatic ties between
    their respective capitals and Israel would be declared anytime soon.

    Credit for this goes mostly to the Algerian and Tunisian peoples who have made
    their rejection of Israeli racism, and support for Palestinian freedom akin to
    local or national struggles. Palestinian flags have always accompanied flags of
    these countries during any large gathering, be it a political protest or a
    sports event.

    Morocco is no exception. Solidarity with Palestine in this country goes back
    generations, and hundreds of activists have paid a price for confronting their
    government on its failure to stand up to Israel or to challenge Washington for
    its support for Tel Aviv.

    The normalization agreement between Rabat and Tel Aviv in 2020 was falsely
    assumed to be an end to popular solidarity with Palestine. In fact, such acts of
    normalization, rightly considered a betrayal by Palestinians, were also meant to
    be the final delinking of Palestine from its Arab and regional environs.

    However, this was not the case. Normalization with Apartheid Israel is still
    strongly rejected by the vast majority of Arabs, as opinion polls
    indicate. Moreover, the pouring of love for Palestine during the Qatar World Cup
    demonstrated, beyond doubt, that Israel cannot possibly be accepted by Arabs
    while still an occupying power and a racist apartheid regime.

    The little political gains achieved by the Moroccan government in exchange for
    sacrificing the rights of Palestinians shall prove irrelevant in coming
    years. In fact, signs of this are already on display.

    The Moroccan government, led by the Development and Justice Party of Saadeddine
    Othmani, which had taken part in the normalization efforts, was rejected en
    masse in the September 2021 elections. Only nine months earlier, Othmani was
    signing the "Joint Declaration" with Israel's National Security Advisor, Meir
    Ben-Shabbat.

    The US recognition of Rabat's claim over Western Sahara as the political barter
    between Rabat and Washington, which led to the normalization with Tel Aviv,
    shall eventually prove meaningless.

    The US and Western superiority is increasingly being challenged throughout the
    African continent, especially in West and Central African regions. Powerful new
    players, like Russia and China, are gaining geopolitical ground, in some regions
    entirely replacing the West's dominance. Thus, the US support for any country's
    territorial ambitions is no longer a guarantor of political gains, especially as
    the African geopolitical spaces have become greatly contested.

    When Morocco normalized with Israel, many Moroccans were taken by surprise. The
    assumption was that Morocco, like other Arab nations, was too consumed by their
    own problems to notice their government's foreign policy shifts, whether
    regarding Palestine or anywhere else.

    Whether that was the case or not, it matters little now. On the second
    anniversary of the "Joint Declaration" agreement, tens of thousands of Moroccans
    demonstrated against normalization in 30 different cities, including Rabat,
    Agadir, Tangier and Meknes. The protests were mobilized by the Moroccan Front
    for Supporting Palestine and Against Normalization.

    The Front is reportedly a network that includes 'over a dozen political and
    human rights organizations,' the New Arab reported. Their chants included "The
    people want to bring down normalization", a slogan that is reminiscent of the
    pan-Arab popular slogan of a decade ago, 'The people want to change the
    regime'. The latter resonated throughout many Arab capitals during the years of
    political upheaval in 2011 and upward.

    This popular movement and its chants indicate that Palestine remains a local and
    national struggle in Morocco, as well as other Arab countries.
    (/quote)
    -- Cont'd at https://www.ramzybaroud.net/the-price-of-betraying-palestine-moroccans-challenge-normalization-with-israel/

    Message Thread:

    • Ramzy Baroud - The Price of Betraying Palestine: Morocco Challenges Normalization with Israel - sashimi January 3, 2023, 10:42 am