Moroccan streets push back as Rabat moves to deepen diplomatic ties with Israel

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have swept through multiple Moroccan cities in recent days, exposing a widening gap between public opposition to normalisation with Israel and the government’s push toward closer formal ties with Tel Aviv.

The latest round of protests reached a peak on September 27, closing out three days of coordinated action organised by the Moroccan Front for Supporting Palestine and Against Normalisation. Demonstrators gathered under banners calling for an end to diplomatic relations and voiced fury over the war in Gaza.

The protests came just weeks after a landmark announcement on September 16, when Morocco and Israel confirmed plans to upgrade their respective diplomatic missions to full embassies and to exchange ambassadors. That decision marked a significant escalation from the 2020 normalisation agreement, transforming what was once a restored diplomatic relationship into a more expansive institutional partnership.

According to the Moroccan Committee for Supporting the Nation’s Causes, the demonstrations were remarkably widespread. The committee said it had arranged 76 events in 45 cities under the slogan “Friday for Al-Aqsa and against normalisation,” claiming participation from Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakesh, Tangier, Fez, Agadir, Oujda, Tetouan, Kenitra and Sale.

In the capital Rabat, protesters gathered outside Parliament, while in Marrakesh what began as a rally developed into a march through several major streets, according to local outlet Lakome. The committee’s count of 76 events was its own figure, however, and no independent national tally of participants has been published.

The demonstrations did not go unopposed. Local authorities in Tangier issued a formal decision banning a planned demonstration on September 27, and Achkayen later reported that security forces dispersed hundreds of participants and detained more than 12 people, citing its own sources.

Similar restrictions were reported elsewhere. Lakome said authorities prevented demonstrations in M’diq, while in Agadir security forces surrounded a gathering to stop it from developing into a march. The Moroccan Committee for Supporting the Nation’s Causes condemned what it described as bans, restrictions and arrests.

The official response underscores a central feature of the current standoff: even as the Moroccan government continues to build out its ties with Israel, opposition to those ties remains highly visible on the streets. The street-level discontent is not new, but the September agreement appears to have sharpened it.

Morocco first restored diplomatic relations with Israel in December 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords framework, a deal that also brought Washington’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. At the time, the normalisation was controversial among many Moroccans, and the controversy has only intensified since.

The September 16 trilateral statement came out of a meeting in New York between Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz. The three countries confirmed the embassy upgrade and agreed to pursue agreements on investment protection and avoiding double taxation, expand direct flights and organise high-level reciprocal visits.

That package extends well beyond the maintenance of diplomatic relations established in 2020. It signals a broader programme of institutional, economic and transport links between Rabat and Tel Aviv, a direction that opponents of normalisation say they have rejected from the outset.

Morocco has long insisted it can maintain ties with Israel while continuing to publicly support the Palestinian cause and the establishment of a Palestinian state. For critics, however, those two positions are irreconcilable, particularly while Israel’s military campaign in Gaza continues.

“What has changed is the political context: Normalisation is being consolidated at a time when the war in Gaza has generated unprecedented public anger and intense images of Palestinian suffering,” Kathya K Berrada, senior programmes manager at the Arab Center for Research, told Al Jazeera.

Moroccan activist Mouna Rahiani framed the divide in even starker terms. “What we are seeing in Morocco is a growing disconnect between official diplomacy and public sentiment,” she said, pointing to the latest Arab Opinion Index, which found that 89 percent of Moroccans surveyed opposed their country recognising Israel, while only six percent supported it.

“While the state is moving towards deeper and more formal relations with Israel, Moroccans are still taking to the streets to say that Palestine cannot be treated as separate from our political and moral responsibilities,” Rahiani added.

Berrada cautioned, however, that official policy and popular opinion should not be conflated, arguing that there is not enough reliable public data to establish precisely how many Moroccans support or oppose normalisation. Even so, she acknowledged that the September agreement has brought an existing tension into sharper focus.

Western Sahara adds another layer to the calculation. The UN Security Council is due to consider the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara in October, with the current mandate running until October 31, 2026. The trilateral statement came against the backdrop of US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory and Israel’s support for Morocco’s position on it.

For Rabat, the relationship with Israel sits within a wider foreign-policy framework in which ties with Washington and international backing for its position on Western Sahara remain crucial. For opponents of normalisation, however, that strategic calculation does little to resolve their objections while the war in Gaza continues and Palestinian suffering remains on full display.