TANGIERS: Thousands of Moroccans demonstrated Sunday in the northern city of Tangier in support of the Palestinian people and against Morocco’s ties with the Zionist entity, an AFP journalist saw. "Gaza is not alone,” chanted the protesters during the event which saw the grouping of leftist parties and Islamist movements.
The protesters took to the streets of the coastal city after reports last month of a Zionist ship’s docking in Tangier port. Coming from the United States, the ship made a pit stop in Tangier on June 19, according to Zionist media. Moroccan authorities have yet to confirm the reports.
On June 24, the kingdom announced the sending of 40 tons of medical aid to the population of Gaza, ravaged by Zionist bombardment for nine months.
Sunday’s protests also called on the kingdom to end its ties with the Zionist entity. Morocco established diplomatic ties with the entity in late 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords which saw similar moves by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Under the deal, the United States recognized Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Several demonstrations have taken place in the North African country since the Zionist war on Gaza broke out in October.
On Saturday, Former Moroccan Prime Minister and Secretary-General of the Justice and Development Party, Abdelilah Benkirane, described the Zionist entity as "aggressive and brutal”, Anadolu Agency reported.
Benkirane made the remarks during a speech at the party’s General Secretariat meeting in Rabat. "(The Zionist entity) is an aggressive and brutal state, unacceptable, with which no communication or cooperation is appropriate,” the former prime minister said. "What (the Zionist entity) has done, he added, in recent stages has led to the Al-Aqsa Flood, and what it is doing against the Palestinians may lead to its retreat and demise,” he added.
Benkirane expressed admiration for the resistance factions and the Palestinian people. He said that they achieved remarkable feats, which will be remembered for a long time. Benkirane praised what he called the "legendary and remarkable steadfastness of the Palestinians and the resistance in Gaza,” adding: "I am sad by the suffering in Gaza.” He urged Arab governments to "stop betting on (the Zionist entity) as a powerful state and to correct their stance.”
Rabat has officially denounced what it said were "flagrant violations of the provisions of international law” by the entity in its war against Hamas. But it has not given any indication that normalization with entity would be undone. — Agencies