Months after the US president announced his intention to relocate the American embassy in Tel Aviv, an Arab media delegation of nine people, including five Moroccan journalists, decided to visit Israel. In a communiqué published on its official website, the Palestinian Information Ministry urged the Federation of Arab Journalists to penalize an Arab media delegation that visited Israel. Invited by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and hosted by its spokesperson, Hassan Kanaia, the Palestinian department insisted that such visit is a step towards normalization. In its statement, the Palestinian ministry indicated that supporting «Israel and its terrorism contradicts the Arab consensus resolutions issued by the Council of Arab Information Ministers». It also stressed that the visit is a shame that cannot be neglected or overseen. Moreover, the ministry voiced its worries adding that the Arab media delegation that included journalists from Morocco, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Syria through its visit «supports the Israeli occupation» and goes against the wellbeing of the Palestinian people, enhancing normalization with the Zionist entity. Indeed, on Monday, the Twitter account of «Israel in Arabic» that belongs to the Israeli Foreign Ministry published a picture of the Arab media delegation. According to the same communiqué the visit aimed at helping these journalists «get a closer look at Israel and its policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict». It also consisted in «meeting with leaders from various political circles in the government and the Knesset». «I support and I will always support Israel» In details, members of the Arab media delegation visited the Old City of Jerusalem and its markets on Tuesday and were «impressed» by the freedom of religion witnessed there. And while four of the five Moroccan journalists required anonymity, Samira Berr told Maariv that «Israel is always portrayed as a murderer in Arab media». The journalist who supports the Jewish entity added that : «when Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, there were demonstrations and protests in the Arab world against the Jews and the parties that supported Israel». «It was not the case in Morocco, as here people here respect Jews and Christians», she said. «When we were in the Western Wall, no one spoke to us and asked if we were Muslim or Jewish,» she said. «We approached the wall and placed our hands on it, it was a good feeling, but then we went up to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and there you have to put on the hijab to get in. They asked me if I knew Surah Al-Fatiha, and whether I was a Muslim … I support and I will always support Israel», she stated. It is not the first time that a delegation of Moroccan journalists visits Israel. A number of delegations have already taken similar steps, despite the popular rejection of normalization with the Zionist entity. This rejection reached the point of urging many associations that support the Palestinian struggle to penalize them upon returning to Morocco.
