Israel invited Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita for a first-ever visit on Wednesday, while a high-level US Congressional delegation was in Jerusalem.
Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz personally delivered the invitation when he met on Wednesday with Bourita during his trip to Morocco to advance bilateral ties.
The invitation was issued by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. Should Bourita accept, it would mark the first arrival of a Moroccan foreign minister in Israel.
Jerusalem and Rabat had low level diplomatic ties from 1994 to 2000. They renewed them last year at a more advanced level under the rubric of the Abraham Accords brokered by former US president Donald Trump’s administration.
The two countries are finalizing details for the launch of direct flights and earlier this week a Moroccan Air Force C130 plane landed in Israel for a joint military drill.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has spoken of advancing the Abraham Accords. On Tuesday at an American Embassy event. Rep. Gregory Meeks, who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke of the importance of the Abraham Accords as a vehicle to normalize ties between Israel and the Arab world. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan have established ties with Israel as part of the accords.
Meeks also assured Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that their two countries were in lock step on Iran. US Chargé d’Affaires Michael Ratney pledged that Iran would not be able to produce a nuclear bomb, even as Tehran began its process of producing enriched uranium metal necessary for such a weapon.
Despite the warm words Israel and the Biden administration are at odds on Iran. The US wants to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, while Israel believes the deal only emboldens Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed the dangers of a nuclear Iran and the importance of Israel’s regional qualitative military edge when he met Wednesday with Meeks and his bipartisan delegation of 11 congressmen.
The US politicians also met with Lapid, who spoke with them of the importance of bipartisan ties between Israel and America.
Bennett also met with the Congress but nothing was released about their meeting.
The delegation includes Reps. Ted Deutch, David Cicilline, Andy Barr, Abigail Spanberger, Sara Jacobs, Kathy Manning, Nicole Malliotakis and Brad Schneider.
Anna Ahronheim, Omri Nahmias and Reuters contributed to this report.