Moroccan national carrier cancels flights to Tel-Aviv

Morocco’s national carrier announced on October 19 that it would cancel flights to and from Tel-Aviv from October 19 to October 30, reports Reuters.

Royal Air Maroc (RAM) announced on X (formerly Twitter) that they would cancel flights departing to and from the city due to the troubling situation in Israel and Palestine, notably Gaza.

Tensions escalated between the two states on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel’s southern part from the densely populated Gaza Strip, a territory under the stranglehold of the Palestinian militant group since 2007.

RAM wrote a statement noting that, “In light of the current situation in Israel, we are forced to cancel flights AT228 and AT229 scheduled for the period from October 19th to October 30th to and from Tel Aviv.”

The north African country originally normalised ties with Israel when both parties agreed to sign the Abraham Accords.

The Accords refers to bilateral agreements originally signed in September 2020 by Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the intention of securing peace in the Middle Eastern region as well as Arab-Israeli normalisation.

The kingdom’s normalisation of ties with Israel has angered many Moroccans as pro-Palestinian sentiment is rife in the country and the Maghreb region more generally.

On October 15, tens of thousands gathered in the capital, Rabat, draped in Palestine flags in what was the biggest demonstration in support of the Palestinian cause since the signing of the Abraham Accords.

The crowd shouted that “the people will liberate Palestine” whilst also affirming their “unconditional support for resistance to the occupation”.

Notable controversies have occurred in the past regarding Morocco’s normalisation of relations with Israel.

In August 2022, 48-year-old, Said Boukioud was handed a five-year prison sentence for criticising King Mohammed VI’s normalisation with Israel on his Facebook account.

This caused outrage as Morocco and neighbouring countries continue to ramp up pressure on dissenting voices.

Boukioud, who was in Qatar whilst making the comments, highlighted in detail the Abraham Accords and deleted the post when realising he was facing prosecution.

Reuters

Follow me