Behind the Morocco-Israel embassy deal: A vote on Western Sahara

A major step forward in Morocco-Israel relations: the two countries "have confirmed their agreement on elevating [their] diplomatic missions to full embassy status," Le Monde reports. 

The announcement came in a joint statement Wednesday, September 16, following talks in New York between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, held at UN headquarters under the auspices of the US representative.

It marks a first: back in 2020, when the normalization deal was signed, Rabat had only spoken, through the Royal Palace, of resuming relations "at an appropriate level." Five years on, the two countries are finally taking the formal step, even though, on the ground, both capitals currently host only liaison offices, one rung below full embassies.

On the Israeli side, the future embassy already physically exists, on Avenue Mehdi Ben Barka in Rabat, built on the very site of the former Israeli liaison office opened after the 1993 Oslo Accords and shuttered in 2000 amid the second intifada. No timeline has been given for when either chancery will formally open.

The catch, Le Monde notes, is that this announcement lands against a backdrop where 89% of Moroccans oppose recognizing Israel, according to a 2025 survey by Doha's Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. 

Unsurprisingly, Rabat issued no official communication of its own, while social media lit up with accusations, some Moroccans branding the move a "betrayal" of the kingdom's own anti-colonial struggle.

Washington's unfulfilled promises

Even among supporters of closer ties, skepticism runs deep: five years after the 2020 accord, the American consulate promised for Western Sahara has yet to open, and the $5 billion in investment pledged by the US development finance agency, IDFC, has yet to materialize. 

The gap stings all the more given that Morocco was the first Arab and African country to join Donald Trump's newly created Board of Peace for Gaza, and has offered to be among the main contributors to a future stabilization force in the enclave.

For researcher Intissar Fakir of the Middle East Institute, cited by Le Monde, the timing is no accident: "The Israeli government wants to show it isn't isolated in the Arab world, while Morocco is likely seeking, with US backing, to influence the outcome of the upcoming UN vote on the future of MINURSO », a decisive Security Council vote due October 31 on the UN mission overseeing a referendum in Western Sahara.

In New York, talks also touched on restoring direct flights between the two countries "before the end of the year."