Bilateral security ties dominate Israeli army chief’s talks in Morocco

By Abdelraouf Arna'out
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli army Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi is set to hold talks in Morocco on bilateral security relations and Iran’s influence in the region, according to Israeli media on Tuesday.

Kochavi arrived in Rabat on Monday for a three-day visit.

He is scheduled to meet with Moroccan Defense Minister Abdellatif Loudiyi, chief of the Royal Armed Forces Belkhir El-Farouk and other defense and security officials, the Israeli army said.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation network (KAN) said Kochavi’s talks with Moroccan officials will also take up Iran’s influence in the region.

The visit is the first by Kochavi to the North African nation since Tel Aviv and Rabat signed a US-sponsored agreement to resume their relations in 2020.

Last month, Israeli military officials participated as observers in a major military drill in Morocco, which saw the participation of troops from the US, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Chad, Brazil, the United Kingdom and others.

In November of last year, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited Morocco where he signed a memorandum of understanding with his Moroccan counterpart to allow defense and military cooperation between the defense establishments in the two countries.

Morocco was the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, in a move decried by Palestinians as a “stab in the back.”

Writing by Ahmed Asmar