Israel has made a connection between Rabat’s hosting of the Negev forum, which had been repeatedly postponed, and its anticipated decision to acknowledge Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara.

According to diplomatic sources, Morocco may upgrade the current mid-level diplomatic missions to embassies in order to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for Israeli acknowledgment of Morocco’s territorial integrity.

Nasser Bourita, Morocco’s minister of foreign affairs, said that Morocco postponed the Negev Summit last month because there was not a suitable political setting for the summit to produce the anticipated outcomes.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen related the decision to the conference in response to a query about what Israel expected in exchange for recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara and whether it intended to establish a consulate in the southern regions of the Kingdom.

Israel’s foreign minister stated, “We are working on this issue and our plan is to make our final decision at the Negev Forum,” noting that Morocco is anticipated to host the event in September or October.

Bourita said, in a previous press conference in Rabat, that “the forum will be held in Morocco in the next political entry.”

He added that while the Kingdom views the Negev Forum as an effective platform for regional cooperation, “there are problems in terms of the agenda and the political context that may not allow this meeting to be held in the summer, and may not help activate the expected result from it.”

Bourita stated that Morocco is “against all Israeli provocations, unilateral action, and everything that radicals from every side, especially the Israelis,” adding that the Kingdom “believes that the Negev Forum bears the idea of dialogue and easing tension.”

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The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Sahara and commander of the MINURSO mission, Staffan de Mistura, will deliver a much-anticipated report to member states of the Security Council during today’s key meeting.

The briefing will center on the Sahara problem and work to persuade all countries involved, especially Algeria, to engage in negotiations.

De Mistura’s briefing will become increasingly more important if the Polisario Front’s reports alleging over 800 attacks on Moroccan bases continue to circulate.

This will be the Special Envoy’s first briefing of the year because he hasn’t been able to compel Algeria to engage in negotiations with the Polisario and Mauritania or find a resolution that would be acceptable to both parties.

In the meantime, Morocco has continued to hold sway thanks to powerful nations acknowledging the Sahara’s Moroccan identity.

The autonomy proposal made by Morocco in 2007 was backed by Security Council resolutions as the best way to resolve the dispute.

MT was told by Abdelnabi Sabri, a professor of international relations at the Faculty of Law Agdal in Rabat, that the motivations underlying Security Council resolutions were geostrategic.

According to him, they “give legitimacy to the autonomy proposal that Morocco presented in 2007.”

The United States of America, who is apparently drafting the UN resolution on the Moroccan Sahara and is likely to endorse the Moroccan thesis and the autonomy plan, has expressed support for this position.

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Staffan de Mistura intends to undertake “informal bilateral meetings” with the parties involved in the Western Sahara dispute this week, according to the UN Secretary General’s office, before he appears before the Security Council of the United Nations in the upcoming weeks.

“Mr. de Mistura invited the representatives of Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, and Mauritania in New York, as well as the members of the Group of Friends of Western Sahara, namely France, the Russian Federation, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States,” said Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday during a press briefing. “Mr. de Mistura invited them to informal bilateral consultations with him, before the presentation of his biannual briefing to the Security Council.”

According to Dujarric, “the personal envoy stated the goal of the informal bilateral meetings would be to share lessons gained from the political process, to further explore viewpoints, and to continue seeking mutually acceptable means to advance the political process.”

In his invitations, the UN mediator emphasized that “he remains hopeful that a reasonable, enduring, and mutually acceptable political solution, providing for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, in conformity with the relevant Security Council resolutions, is feasible.”

In advance of the consultations, which will take place in the UN building in New York, De Mistura met on Tuesday with the permanent representatives to the UN of France and Mauritania.

The UN Personal Envoy, Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria, and Mauritania are negotiating at a quartet round table, which is being called for to resume by a number of Security Council members, including the United States.

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It is almost certain that the UAE decision to open a general consulate in the city of Laayoune is just the beginning as several Arab countries are preparing to open new consulates. This move will certainly form more pressure on the separatists as well as the Algerian military regime which embraces them.

A diplomatic source told Morocco Telegram that many Gulf countries are preparing to open consulates in the Moroccan Sahara, a decision many Arab countries will also take in the upcoming months.

while the Algerian military regime is still an exception, the Moroccan position towards the Sahara issue enjoys wide support from the leading Arab countries, Gulf states chiefly. In a constant quest to undermine the unity of the Arab peoples, the Algerian army, which continue to firmly hold the reins of power in the country, chooses to keep supporting Polisario separatists with weapons and supervise the detention of thousands of Moroccans in Tindouf, encouraging the public media outlets to trumpet their anti-Moroccan propaganda.

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Simultaneously with Moroccan’s celebration of the anniversary of the Green March and the opening of the consulate of UAE in Laayoun; Saad Eddine El Otmani, head of government, said: “opening the consulate of UAE shows the historical, legal, national, and political rights of Morocco in its Sahara”.

This took place Thursday, Novermber 5^th, after the weekly governmental meeting via video-conference technology; which was about studying and agreeing on project n° 2.20.788, given by the interior minister, for the purpose of extending the case of health emergency all over the country so as to stop the spread of COVID-19.

El Otmani stated numerous achievements reached during the previous years as well as the current one, including the ongoing openings of consulates in a great number of southern cities. He also pointed not to forget the seven consulates in Dakhla and eight ones in Laayoun.

Subsequently, he thanked all the countries that took the step to show support to Morocco in its fair case. He noted: “the essential principle in this case gives complete clarity, achieves the solidarity and loyalty of the Moroccan people for HM Mohmmed VI King of Morocco. It also shows their perseverance on the supreme national principles”.

Through clarity and perseverance, said head of government, “Thanks to the continuous will, steadiness, and unity of Moroccans with the king, Morocco was able to attain more successive victories for its national case and supreme interests”.

El Othmani called attention to the royal speech in November 2014, in which the king made a point of the continuity of constants associated with this matter. El Othmani reminded others of the king’s royal famous saying: “Morocco will remain in its Sahara and the Sahara in its Morocco until Allah inherits the earth and those on it”.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister brought up the recent Security Council resolution n° 2548 on the case of Moroccan Sahara. It represents progression of what was formerly confirmed by the Council in its decisions during the past years, especially with concerns to speaking highly of the Moroccan initiative for independence as a solid basis for any negotiations on the horizon of finding a final solution to this conflict. Adding to it “the commitment of the Council to a realistic, pragmatic and sustainable political solution based on consensus on the principles determined years ago to meet with a solution to this conflict”.

El Otmani considered the last Security Council resolution calls host countries to initiate the registration and counting of refugees in Tindouf camps, which is the request delivered by the council years ago. “but the other side is still, unfortunately, procrastinating in its execution; whereas the process of counting and registration is the basis for international community’s dealing with refugees everywhere”.

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