RABAT — Israel and Morocco signed a
security agreement Wednesday making it easier for
Rabat to acquire high-tech
exports from Israel's defense industry, as the countries expand ties following their
normalization deal last year.
اضافة اعلان
The memorandum of understanding signed in
Rabat by visiting Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Morocco's
minister in charge of defense administration, Abdellatif Loudiyi, was
"unprecedented" for Israel, an Israeli official said.
Israel has several security accords with
allied nations, but the Morocco deal marks the first-of-its-kind agreement with
a majority Arab nation, the official said, asking not to be named.
Israel has full diplomatic relations with
only four other Arab countries: Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, and Bahrain.
The Morocco deal came as Gantz made the
first visit by an Israeli defense minister to the North African kingdom.
Gantz said the deal "will enable
Israeli exports here (to
Morocco)".
One Israeli product, the NSO's Pegasus
spyware, has already made its way to Morocco, according to Amnesty
International and Paris-based organization Forbidden Stories.
Rabat allegedly used it against French
President
Emmanuel Macron — a claim denied by Morocco which said it never
bought the software and has filed lawsuits against French media and Amnesty.
An Israeli defense official stressed that
"relations with Morocco were not based on arms sales" alone.
In Morocco, Israel was eyeing
"long-term bonds that are a cornerstone of Israeli security", the
official said.
A Moroccan government statement said
agreements had been signed in areas of defense and "cybersecurity,” and
that both sides had "a common interest to consolidate relations."
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