US President Donald Trump’s announcement about diplomatic relations between Israel and Morocco was met with praise in Jerusalem and across the country.
There are about a million Israelis whose family origins are at least partly Moroccan. Leading figures have been quoted in the media celebrating the new diplomatic ties, even though they could already travel to the North African country – as many Israelis have.
But beyond that emotional connection for many Israelis, and greater exchanges of tourism that comes with the direct flights that were announced along with normalization, there are plenty of other reasons why relations with Morocco will be beneficial to the Jewish state.
Morocco, which has 36.5 million residents, is considered one of the more influential countries in the Arab world and Africa, as well as having one of the continent’s strongest economies. As such, the latest developments can help convince other countries in the region to forge relations with Israel.
Jerusalem and Rabat have had both secret and open ties at varying times through their histories.
In the 1960s, Moroccan King Hassan II gave Israel recordings of an Arab League meeting that helped it prepare for the Six Day War in 1967, according to former IDF intelligence chief Shlomo Gazit and former intelligence officer and cabinet minister Rafi Eitan. That same year, the Mossad helped Morocco abduct a dissident from France.
More recently, Morocco has viewed Iran as a threat, cutting ties with Tehran in 2018 because it funded the Western Sahara separatist movement Polisario via Hezbollah. As with Gulf States, opposition to Iran carries a lot of potential for cooperation with Israel on defense matters.
In fact, reports from January of this year indicated that Morocco bought Israeli drones for $48 million.
Israel and Morocco exchanged liaison offices in 1995, following the Oslo Accords, marking the start of open – though not full – diplomatic relations between the countries. Rabat cut ties with Jerusalem in 2000, after the Palestinians launched the Second Intifada.
Limited trade between the countries continued even after those ties were cut, with Israel importing $68m. in Moroccan goods and exporting $5m. to Morocco in 2018, according to the Israel Export Institute. This is likely to grow with the planned direct flights and the sign of approval from King Mohammad VI in the form of normalizing ties.
Israel’s major exports to Morocco are plastics, machinery and electrical equipment, while Morocco mostly exports vehicles, apparel and accessories to the Jewish state.
Israeli government sources view energy as a potential source for cooperation between Israel and Morocco, which does not have much energy resources of its own. Morocco has been importing about 90% of its energy since 2013, and seeks to expand its use of renewable energy. Israel exports natural gas and has expertise in solar energy.
Agriculture makes up about 40% of Morocco’s economy and a large part of its exports, and the country will be interested in Israeli agri-tech innovations.