Morocco secretly received weapons from Israel years before normalisation
A Hebrew newspaper shed light on "secret military relations" between Morocco and Israel, which started many years before signing the normalisation agreement in December 2020.
Researcher Jonathan Hempel, a specialist in Israeli military
and security export, disclosed in an article published by Haaretz that Israeli
military exports were covertly delivered to Morocco.
Hempel added that in the 1970s, Israel shipped tanks to
Morocco, and from 2000 to 2020, officials from both countries made a number of
secret and unclassified visits.
According to the researcher, relations between the two
countries have mainly focused on intelligence cooperation and arms sales.
Israel has sold Moroccan military systems, military communications systems and
surveillance systems (such as radar systems for combat aircraft) through a
third party.
He added that the Royal Moroccan Air Force bought three
Heron drones manufactured by the Israel Aerospace Industries in 2013 at the
cost of $50 million.
The researcher pointed out that Israel had provided military
aid to Morocco to combat the "rebels of the Great Sahara", describing
the new aircraft acquired by the kingdom as part of a long history of arms
sales.
Hempel indicated that Morocco also receives Israeli
assistance in the field of digital surveillance, noting that Amnesty
International reported that, in 2017, Morocco began using spyware from the
Israeli company NSO Group to track and collect information on journalists and
human rights activists.
He also divulged that Morocco had also acquired the drone
that Israel used to attack the Gaza Strip. The expert explained that Israel
often does not publish official information on arms deals.
It is worth noting that Morocco is the fourth Arab country
to have recently signed a normalisation agreement with Israel under US
auspices, after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan.
Last December, the two countries signed four bilateral
agreements focusing on direct flights, water management, visa waivers for
citizens of both countries and encouraging investment and trade between the two
countries.
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