Gaza War Hinders Israel's Budding Thaw With Morocco

Rabat, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Nov, 2023) Israel's fledgling rapprochement with Morocco, which had made steady progress in the three years since the two governments normalised relations, has been thrown into reverse by the deadly conflict in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have returned to the streets of the North African nation, as the death toll from some seven weeks of Israeli bombardment in Gaza has risen to nearly 15,000, mostly civilians, according to Hamas officials.

The Israeli liaison office in Rabat was reportedly evacuated last month amid security concerns and Israeli visitors have disappeared from tourism hubs like Marrakesh and Essaouira, along with many of the restaurants opened to cater for them.

All flights between the two countries have been suspended since the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

The outbreak of the conflict in Gaza also sparked an exodus of Israeli tourists and investors from Morocco.

"Overnight there was no one left," said Michel Cohen, the French-Israeli owner of a kosher restaurant in Marrakesh that is now closed.

"The Israelis that were there have left. They were very scared," he said.

Out of 14 kosher restaurants that had been opened in Marrakesh since Morocco's normalisation of relations with Israel in 2020, 12 have since closed.