Israel reiterated its recognition of "Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara" on Friday, following an interview on French television during which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu displayed a map showing the disputed territory clearly separated from the Cherifian Kingdom.
Algeria opposes Morocco regarding this territory © Mena Today
Israel reiterated its recognition of "Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara" on Friday, following an interview on French television during which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu displayed a map showing the disputed territory clearly separated from the Cherifian Kingdom.
"Under Prime Minister Netanyahu's leadership, Israel officially recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara in 2023," stated an official communiqué, released in Arabic.
In an interview aired Thursday on the LCI channel, Mr. Netanyahu displayed a map and said, according to the French translation by the channel: "Look at the map here of the Arab world in green, Israel is this little red dot."
On the map, Morocco appears in green like other Arab countries, while Western Sahara is shown in white.
Morocco and Israel normalized their relations in December 2020 as part of the so-called Abraham Accords, a diplomatic process between Israel and several Arab countries, supported by the United States. In return, Rabat secured recognition from Washington of "Moroccan sovereignty" over Western Sahara.
The communiqué issued by Mr. Netanyahu's office explained that the map shown on the screen during the interview was an "old map" and assured that "Israel's policy remains (...) unchanged" regarding the recognition of "Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara."
Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is largely controlled by Morocco—which proposes an autonomy plan under its sovereignty—but is claimed by the Sahrawi independence movement, the Polisario Front, supported by Algeria.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a statement on Saturday, urging all parties involved in the planned prisoner and hostage exchanges between Israel and Hamas to ensure that these operations are conducted with "dignity and discretion."
The three Israelis were led onto a stage with Palestinian Hamas militants armed with automatic rifles standing on each side of them at the site in Khan Younis, live footage showed, before they were taken into Israel by Israeli forces.
Sudan's Rapid Support Forces have attacked the famine-stricken Zamzam displacement camp, residents and medics say, as the paramilitary tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold while losing ground to the army in the capital, Khartoum.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.