Israel And Morocco Agree To Open Full Embassies, Appoint Ambassadors
By Mansour Al-Maswari
Key Takeaways:
- After a New York meeting of Gideon Sa’ar, Nasser Bourita, and U.S. UN Ambassador Mike Waltz, Israel and Morocco agreed to upgrade liaison offices to full embassies and name ambassadors. Extra direct flights on Moroccan airlines are due within weeks; investment-protection and double-tax deals are targeted by end-2026, plus reciprocal high-level visits.
- Ties were restored in December 2020 under a U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords package; Washington recognized Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara. Cooperation has grown in defense, security, tourism, trade, and investment, but missions had stayed at liaison level. Israel’s post in Morocco is still listed that way.
- After October 2023, flights were disrupted and Moroccan protests against normalization continued; governments kept working, especially on security and the economy. The piece notes the contrast with U.S. limits on Palestinian officials at UNGA (including reported plans to keep Abbas from New York) while Accords ties deepen.
(Albawaba) — Israel and Morocco agreed Wednesday to upgrade their diplomatic missions to full embassies and appoint ambassadors, marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral relations nearly six years after the two countries restored diplomatic ties under the US-backed Abraham Accords.
The agreement was announced after a trilateral meeting in New York between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz.
The sides also agreed to expand direct flights between Israel and Morocco to include Moroccan airlines, with the additional services expected to begin within weeks, and to complete agreements on investment protection and the avoidance of double taxation by the end of 2026. They also plan to arrange reciprocal high-level visits in the coming months.
The announcement came one day after the sixth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, which established a framework for Israel’s normalization with several Arab states. The latest move is intended to deepen economic, diplomatic and people-to-people ties between Israel and Morocco, while expanding the practical benefits of their normalization agreement.
Israel and Morocco restored diplomatic relations in December 2020 under a US-brokered agreement associated with the Abraham Accords. Under the deal, the two countries agreed to establish full diplomatic relations, reopen liaison offices, launch direct flights and expand economic and security cooperation. In parallel, the United States recognized Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory whose status remains contested internationally.
Since 2020, Israel and Morocco have expanded cooperation in areas including defense, security, tourism, trade and investment. The countries have maintained liaison offices rather than full embassies, making Wednesday’s agreement an upgrade in the formal level of diplomatic representation. Israel’s diplomatic mission in Morocco is still officially listed as a liaison office.
Relations have nevertheless faced difficulties since the October 2023 Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli assaults in Gaza. Direct flights were disrupted during the conflict, and public opposition to normalization has remained significant in Morocco, including protests calling for an end to diplomatic ties with Israel. At the same time, cooperation between the governments has continued, particularly in security and economic fields.
The new agreement also comes as Washington seeks to maintain momentum behind the Abraham Accords and broader Arab-Israeli normalization. The meeting in New York took place during preparations for the UN General Assembly, where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a central diplomatic issue.
The timing is particularly notable because the United States has again restricted the participation of Palestinian officials at the UN. In August, The Jerusalem Post reported that Washington planned to prevent Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from traveling to New York for the General Assembly.
The issue has echoes of the US decision in 2025 to deny or revoke visas for Palestinian representatives, after which the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution allowing Palestine to participate remotely.
The contrasting developments—an expansion of Israel’s diplomatic ties with Morocco while Washington restricts the Palestinian leadership’s participation in UN proceedings—highlight the continuing divergence between the normalization process under the Abraham Accords and efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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