Israeli i24news channel opens office in Morocco

RABAT, Morocco (AA) – Israel’s i24news channel opened an office in Morocco on Tuesday, becoming the first Israeli television channel to have presence in the North African country.

A ceremony attended by a host of figures and academics was held at the archaeological site of Chellah in Rabat to celebrate the opening of the office, according to a video clip broadcast by the channel.

The Israeli channel is expected to have another two offices in Rabat and Casablanca.

Israel’s i24news is owned by Patrick Drahi, a Moroccan-French-Israeli billionaire who was born in the city of Casablanca to a Jewish family after which he immigrated to France and then Israel.

In 2000, Morocco broke all ties with Israel after the latter's violent response to the second Palestinian intifada, and suspension of peace talks with the Palestinians.

But in December 2020, Morocco restored diplomatic relations under a US-sponsored deal. It became the fourth Arab country to agree to normalization with Israel in 2020 after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan.

*Writing by Bassel Barakat