Palestinian groups slam Israeli defense chief’s visit to Morocco

By Mohammad Majid - Ramzy Mahmoud

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) -Palestinian groups on Thursday denounced the visit of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz to Morocco which witnessed the singing of military agreements.

Ismail Radwan, a prominent leader in Hamas, slammed the visit and called on Moroccans and their parties "to reject the visit and condemn it."

Radwan called for "prosecuting Gantz and to bring him to International Criminal Court for his war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people."

"Normalization whatsoever its level has reached won't give legitimacy to the (Israeli) occupation which will remain the sole enemy to our (Arab) nation," he added.

The Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) slammed the military agreement between Morocco and Israel.

Gantz's visit "represents a direct danger to the brotherly Moroccan people at first, then to the region entirely, especially brotherly Algeria which is targeted in its security and its territorial integrity,” it said.

Gantz arrived in Morocco late Tuesday for a two-day visit, the first by an Israeli defense minister to the north African country. His visit, however, has drawn criticism from human rights associations in Morocco.

During the visit, Morocco signed an agreement with Israel to purchase Israeli drones and "advanced weapons" systems.

On Dec. 10, 2020, Israel and Morocco announced the resumption of diplomatic relations that were suspended in 2002, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara