Credible sources within the Democratic Party in Washington have told the Israeli daily Hebrew newspaper “Maariv” that US President-elect Joe Biden has warmly welcomed Morocco’s decision to normalize ties with Israel and the US recognition of the Moroccan Sahara as part of Morocco’s sovereignty over its territories.

Sources from Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper have backed up the news confirming that the new Biden Administration considers Morocco as an essential ally which the US relies on as a pivotal country in North Africa.

The same sources have dismissed any changes of Washington’s stand on the issue of Moroccan Sahara recognition; thus, the Biden administration will follow Trump’s steps in working forward to establish the Abraham Accords for peace in the middle east and defend Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara.

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Vice Chairman of the Israel-Indonesia Chambre of Commerce, Emanuel Shahaf lists what would the largest Muslim Majority country benefit from normalizing ties with Israel.

Shahaf expressed in an interview with MoroccoTelegram that normalizing ties with Israel would be a good deal for Indonesia.

He further added that ties with Israel will help Indonesia realize its potential which it hasn’t been doing for the last thirty or forty years.

Moreover, Indonesia would benefit from Tourism as it is a fascinating tourist attraction. Huge numbers of Israelis go to Dubai for tourism as a fruit of peace with Dubai. In addition to that, many Israelis with Moroccan roots already travel to Morocco and as a fruit of peace with Morocco, more numbers are to visit Morocco in the coming months.

In addition to Tourism, Indonesia would also be a great market for Israel especially in technologies. It is also an opportunity to develop Indonesian agriculture and other parts of the economy which are underdeveloped where Israel would have a big impact.

Having developed advanced technologies in the agriculture sector, Israel’s know-how and technologies would have a considerable impact on the Indonesian economy since 40% of Indonesia’s workforce is employed in agriculture.

Thus, there is no reason that prevents Indonesia from becoming an independent force economically in the sector of agriculture taking advantage of Israeli’s know-how and technology. Instead of importing $5 Billion worth of agricultural products per year, Indonesia could be an exporting country.

On the other hand, another gain for Indonesia is in the area of dairy industry which witnesses a huge need for improvement. Indonesia barely supplies 30% of the country’s needs. However, with Israel’s world developed dairy technologies, Indonesia’s dairy industry will rise considerably.

In terms of Medicine, Israel’s methodologies and expertise would be of great help for the dispersed Indonesian population. Israel could employ tele-medicine doctors at distant medical centers who can read tele-images of patients over the internet and decide who needs to be hospitalized and who needs further testing.

The sector of clean energy is also at stake. Indonesia’s electricity production capacity is bellow average and is unable to cope with rising domestic consumption of electricity. Israel’s leading clean energy plans would provide Indonesia with abundant clean sources of energy especially in its rural areas.

The post What would Indonesia gain from Israel Normalization? appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.

On December 10th, the president of the US had declared major achievements and breakthroughs between USA and Morocco as well as Morocco and Israel.
As of the 10th of December 2020, USA had recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and a Washington Consulate will be established in Al Dakhla, South Morocco, while Morocco has also declared normalization of Moroccan Israeli ties.

However, this date seems to have held many major and important events. While Morocco would like to focus more on its current achievements with the USA, the latest announcements on the normalization have caused many conflicted opinions to arise both from Moroccan and Palestinian parties; some have even gone as far as to call this act which Moroccan authorities have taken as “a betrayal”.

Nevertheless, the facts show otherwise, as it is important to state that the authorities had taken all measures solely to ensure peace and stability; a meeting between HM Mohamed VI and the Palestinian PA Mahmoud Abbas in which HM had informed the PA of the content of his phone call with US President Donald Trump has been held, further reaffirming that “his Majesty’s position in support of the Palestinian cause remains unchanged” and that Morocco in fact supports the two-state solution in order to continue negotiations and find solutions to the Palestinian and Israeli Conflicts.

The rise of conflicted opinions, however, is understandable, as a recent poll had shown that only 16% of Moroccans have a favorable view of Israel, while a previous survey taken had resulted in the rejection of 88% of its Moroccan participants for the diplomatic recognition of Israel.

Yet, what is not probably taken into consideration are all the facts, authorities’ positions and announcements when it comes to the matter, since Morocco has a rich history and strong historical ties with its jewish community and over 10% of Israel’s population is comprised of Moroccan Jews, the King; Mohamed VI has also always insisted on the need to preserve the special status of Al Quds Asharif’s city respecting the freedom of practicing the religious rites of the three monotheistic religions’ followers without any exclusion, and Morocco is actually the sixth Arab league member to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel along with Egypt and Jordan after agreements have also been struck recently with the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan.

In addition to this, the normalization act was actually well welcomed from many officials including the Palestinian PA Mahmoud Abbas. In recent events, the US President Donald J. Trump had declared this act as a major “Historic Breakthrough for peace in the Middle East”, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the King Mohamed VI for his decision declaring it as a “historic” one bringing “another great light of peace”, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was the first to issue statements welcoming and praising Morocco’s decision, while Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also welcomed the declaration, and Bahraini Monarch Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifa’s praised the decision stating that this deal would “enhance the chances of achieving peace, stability, and prosperity in the region”.

Last but not least, the President of the Palestinian authority Mahmoud Abbas had welcomed the Normalization of Moroccan Israeli ties further stating that “Israel has the right to live in peace and prosperity with all countries, and normalization with Morocco is welcomed”, continued to send his congratulations to HM King Mohammed VI, and announced that Israeli-Palestinian talks will continue soon.

In other news, it seems that the most conflicted opinions on the rise right now have come from Polisario front representative about the Western Sahara who declared that the US Change in policy is “strange but not surprising” and this will not change their reality and Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s parties announced it a “betrayal to Jerusalem and Palestine” about the recent normalization of Moroccan Israeli ties.

The post Morocco’s Normalization, another Milestone in Diplomacy. appeared first on Morocco Telegraph.

In a speech during the virtual general debate of the seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, Moroccan prime minister Saad Eddine El Othmani stated that the failure to settle the Palestinian issue and relaunch the peace process in the Middle East is a source of deep concern to the Kingdom. “The Palestinian people will gain their legitimate right to establish an independent and viable Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital” EL Othmani said.

El Othmani also expressed rejection of all unilateral measures by the Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territories, whether in the West Bank or in Jerusalem, stressing that these measures will deepen tension and instability in the region.

The PM recalled King Mohammed VI’s affirmation, as Chairman of the Jerusalem Committee emanating from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, on the importance of preserving the city of Jerusalem as it is a common heritage of humanity, a symbol of peaceful coexistence for the followers of the three religions, and a center of values, mutual respect and dialogue.

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