Direct commercial flights between Israel and Morocco inaugurated after relations normalize

Two Israeli airlines Israir on Sunday inaugurated the direct trade route between Israel and Morocco, seven months after the normalization of relations between the two countries.

The plane of Israel, which carried a hundred people, took off in the morning from Tel-Aviv to Marrakech, the tourist capital of Morocco, told the AFP a spokesperson for the company, and explained that between two and three commercial flights are scheduled between the two cities per week.

For his part, during a farewell ceremony of Flights to El Al in the presence of Moroccan envoy Abderrahim Beyyoudh, Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said that the service would promote “trade, tourism and economic cooperation between countries”, according to a statement from the airline, which plans to operate five flights per week.

Morocco became in December 2020 the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel, after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, under the leadership of the administration of former US President Donald Trump.

In December 2020, the first direct flight between Tel Aviv and Rabat was made with Israeli officials. Then bilateral agreements were signed, in particular on visa exemption for diplomats and direct air links.

Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced that he would travel to Morocco, after the direct air route to that country opened, without announcing a date.

The normalization of relations, within the framework of “Abrahamic agreements“Came when the Trump administration recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed and divided former Spanish colony.

Morocco is home to the largest Jewish community in North Africa, with some 3,000 members. Some 700,000 Jews of Moroccan origin live in Israel. Rabat had a liaison office in Tel Aviv, but relations were disrupted during the second Intifada or Palestinian uprising of 2000-2005.

The normalization agreements between the Arab states and Israel have been viewed as a “betrayal” by the Palestinians, who believe that the process should only follow a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

(With information from AFP and AP)

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