Yair Lapid to visit Morocco next month

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will visit Morocco next month, he announced at a Yesh Atid faction meeting on Monday.

“This is a historic event,” Lapid said. “I want to thank the King of Morocco, His Majesty Mohammed VI, for the leadership he displayed in promoting the visit and the renewal of relations.”

Israel and Morocco announced they are restoring diplomatic ties in December, after the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan established relations with Israel in the preceding months. Israel and Morocco previously had relations, which were officially cut in 2002, though secret ties continued. The announcement stopped short of full normalization, and the countries reopened reciprocal economic liaison offices.

Direct flights between Israel and Morocco are expected to begin at the end of the month, and Lapid will visit Rabat soon after that. Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz was in Morocco earlier this month to discuss ways to advance diplomatic ties.

Lapid said his visit “will be the opening point of tourism and trade agreements, of comprehensive economic and diplomatic cooperation between the two countries.”

Lapid pointed out that hundreds of thousands of Israelis of Moroccan descent, for whom the renewal of diplomatic relations is significant. One of them, Welfare Minister Meir Cohen, who was born in Essaouira, Morocco, will join Lapid on his trip.

The Foreign Minister argued that only five weeks after the new government was formed, Israel’s foreign relations have been changed: “There is a recognizable improvement in relations with the Democratic Party, with US Jewry, with the EU and with Jordan. We will not give up even one centimeter of national security, but together with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz we are holding a totally different dialogue with the international community.”

The dialogue is “open, respectful and efficient,” Lapid added. “It already dramatically improved our foreign relations, contributes to Israeli security and opens endless opportunities for the Israeli economy.”

Lapid did not specify what the improvements were. Though Israel agreed to sell Jordan twice as much water as stipulated in the peace treaty, Jordan sent a complaint letter to Israel this week about allowing Jews onto the Temple Mount. A poll released by the Jewish Electoral Institute last week claimed a quarter of US Jews believe Israel is an apartheid state.