On November 24, Israel’s Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, will pay an official visit to Morocco to sign a cooperation agreement.
According to Reuters, the defense ministry confirmed that Gantz will meet with his Moroccan counterpart as well as the foreign minister to sign the agreement.
BREAKING: Israeli minister of defense Benny Gantz will visit Morocco next week. This will be the first ever visit by an Israeli minister of defense in Morocco. During the visit Gantz will sign a defense cooperation MOU with his Moroccan counterpart
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 15, 2021
Morocco, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, was one of four Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel last year under US-backed deals.
In August of this year, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid visited Morocco for the first time since 2003, and in late October, Israel rescinded its decade-long travel warning against the country.
Moroccan officials define the resumption of diplomatic relations with Israel, which includes the establishment of liaison offices and the beginning of flights between the two countries, as a restoration of mid-level connections.
For centuries prior to the creation of Israel as a state in 1948, the North African kingdom was home to one of the greatest Jewish communities in North Africa and the Middle East.