At the height of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, a Moroccan delegation visited the Hebrew state and met with a number of officials. A visit that sparked widespread criticism in the kingdom. In the middle of the war on Gaza, a Moroccan delegation visited Israel on Monday, July 8th, and met with several Israeli officials, including Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Meir Ben Shabbat, chair of the Misgav Institute for Zionist Strategy and National Security, and former Israeli national security advisor. «Misgav Institute had the privilege of hosting a delegation of young Moroccan leaders who came to Israel with Sharakan, an Israeli-Arab organization dedicated to promoting peace and partnership in the Middle East», the institute wrote Tuesday on its X account. The visit is meant «to promote warm peace between Israel and the countries of the Abraham Accords», explained the Israeli institute. The Moroccan delegation, which included influencers, academics, and social activists, was received at the Misgav Institute in fluent Moroccan by the head of the institute, Meir Ben Shabbat. «They discussed the future of normalization in the Gaza Strip, in view of the war in Gaza and the need to continue the war until its goals are achieved», the same source added. משלחת ממרוקו הגיעה השבוע למכון משגב לביטחון לאומי! ???? משלחת של מנהיגים צעירים ממרוקו, משפיענים, אקדמאים ופעילים חברתיים, שהגיעו לישראל במסגרת ארגון שראכה, הפועל לקידום השלום החם בין ישראל ומדינות הסכמי אברהם, התקבלה במכון משגב במרוקאית שוטפת על ידי ראש המכון, מאיר בן שבת. הם… pic.twitter.com/S1EkBRbUFE — מכון משגב (@MisgavINS) July 9, 2024 «The members of the delegation expressed great support for Israel and its goals against Hamas and were very moved by the fluent Moroccan speech of the head of the institute», the same source added. According to the Institute, its Moroccan-born president made «a memorable impression by briefing the group in Moroccan Arabic». «Together we discussed current events and the importance of joint initiatives between Arabs and Jews in order to strengthen understanding and counter extremism», it added. «The response from the Moroccan young leaders was overwhelmingly positive, reflecting the shared hope and enthusiasm for the future. The mutual excitement highlighted the deep cultural bonds between Israel and Morocco, which can serve as a basis for advancing people-to-people peace in the spirit of the Abraham Accords», it added. Significant criticism The visit was widely criticized on social media, especially since it took place in the middle of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which has left nearly 40,000 people dead, mostly women and children. The Moroccan Observatory Against Normalization said that the delegation of the «Partnership Association» is headed by «Faiçal Marjani and Youssef Azhari in a group of about 23 young people who were selected to work with the Zionists in repeating the Zionist narrative about the events of October 7 (the Al-Aqsa flood) and serving the Zionist intelligence propaganda in Moroccan circles». Sharaka had previously condemned the Hamas attack on October 7, and in a statement described the Palestinian movement as «terrorist» and «Nazi» and that it «uses schools, hospitals and residential neighborhoods as terrorist barracks, and makes innocent residents human shields to protect them and their leaders hiding in the tunnels». Some members of the delegation had previously visited Israel in April as part of a program to «promote tolerance through Holocaust education throughout the Arab and Muslim world». Israel has continued its devastating war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since last October, rejecting calls from the international community for a ceasefire and allowing aid to enter the Palestinian territories. It also refuses to obey orders from the International Court of Justice to halt its attack on the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip, which is home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
