Middle East Monitor / January 26, 2021
Morocco’s Justice and Development Party (JDP) yesterday warned of the dangers of normalising relations with Israel on the country’s political, economic, social and cultural fabric.
The party renewed its “absolute condemnation and rejection of the US deal of the century,” warning of “the dangers of allowing the normalisation process to infiltrate the political, economic, social and cultural fabric of Morocco.”
The statement affirmed the party’s “firm a position, unconditional and wholehearted support for the struggle of the Palestinian people and their steadfastness against the brutal Zionist occupation.”
Adding that it was “in support of the quest for freedom, ending the occupation, advocating for the right of return, the restoration of the Palestinian inalienable rights, and the building of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
The Justice and Development has witnessed unprecedented internal turmoil since Saadeddine Othmani, the party’s secretary-general and head of the Moroccan government, signed the normalisation agreement with Israel on 22 December.
The party faced severe criticism given that its doctrine has been based on rejecting any form of normalisation with Israel.
Rabat established official relations with Tel Aviv in December in return for the US’ recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara; a territory that has been the subject of dispute between the kingdom and the Polisario Front for decades.
