Morocco’s King accepts Gaza “Board of Peace” invitation
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the so-called “Board of Peace” in Gaza, as reported by The Arab Weekly and agencies on January 20th.
According to a statement published by Morocco’s Foreign Ministry on January 19th, the monarch welcomes “President Donald Trump’s commitment and vision to promoting peace,” and has “graciously accepted this invitation”, adding that the Kingdom would “ratify the charter establishing this board.”
Under the US-backed ceasefire, a multinational stabilisation force will be deployed to Gaza that would oversee the reconstruction and governance of the post-war Palestinian enclave.
However, the apparent lack of Palestinian representation on the board has led to critics describing the plan as a colonial endeavour, with some arguing that expelling Hamas will undermine the Palestinians’ right to choose their representatives.
The board’s charter states that member countries may remain on the board for three years or more if they pay more than $1 billion within the first year.
In recent years, ties between Israel and Morocco have been growing, largely due to Morocco’s signing of the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, which seek to normalise relations between Israel and Arab countries.
On January 9th, it was reported that Israel and Morocco had reached a defence partnership, which would see increased security cooperation between the countries.
Reportedly, Israel is one of Morocco’s main weapons suppliers, through defence contractors such as Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Rafael.
This is despite concerns that the contractors are complicit in war crimes committed amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed at least 71,000 people since October 2023.
Although ties between Israel and Morocco have become more visible in recent years, the countries have maintained secret ties since at least the 1980s, including a 1986 meeting in Rabat with then-Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, held by King Hassan II, the father of Mohammed VI.
Morocco’s support for Israel has continued despite objections from the Moroccan public, many of whom support severing ties between the Kingdom and Israel.
Despite continuing to acquire weapons from Israeli contractors, the Moroccan government has publicly condemned Israel’s war on Gaza and sent humanitarian aid to the war-torn Palestinian territory.
The Arab Weekly and agencies, Maghrebi.org
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