Israel, Morocco strike deal to normalize diplomatic relations

Israel and Morocco on Thursday agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with each other, marking the fourth Arab country to establish ties with Israel this year and giving President Trump one more Middle East policy win in his final weeks in office.

The deal marked another major step forward for the U.S.-brokered push to end Israel’s isolation in the region and build up a coalition with Arab states to present a united front against Iran.

But the accord may prove controversial in the region and in Washington, as the Trump administration simultaneously announced it was formally endorsing Morocco’s claims to a vast swath of the Western Sahara where it has been fighting a decades-long insurgency, a recognition one key Senate Republican called “deeply disappointing.”

Mr. Trump announced the move in a tweet Thursday, calling the deal a “historic breakthrough.” He claimed Israel and Morocco “have agreed to full diplomatic relations — a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East!”

U.S. officials say Israel and Morocco will restore diplomatic and other ties, including the immediate reopening of liaison offices in Tel Aviv and Rabat, the eventual opening of embassies and joint overflight rights for the two nations’ airlines.

Morocco, where there is sizable popular support for the Palestinian cause, in its statement pledged more vaguely to “resume diplomatic relations as soon as possible” with Israel.

Morocco joins the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan in a historic thaw in relations with Israel. Jared Kushner, White House Middle East adviser and presidential son-in-law, has been ardently wooing Saudi Arabia and other states to establish ties as well.

While U.S.-Moroccan ties have been generally solid, the Western Sahara acknowledgement was clearly a key part of the deal for Rabat.

“As of today, the United States recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory and reaffirms its support for Morocco’s serious, credible, and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute over the Western Sahara territory,” the White House said in an official proclamation.

A former Spanish colony, the Western Sahara region is claimed by Morocco and by the Algeria-based Polisario Front, which wants to create an independent country there. The U.S. for decades has declined to say definitively which claim it would support.

The White House said that an independent state “is not a realistic option for resolving the conflict and that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution.”

“We urge the parties to engage in discussions without delay, using Morocco’s autonomy plan as the only framework to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution.”

The deal was formalized during a phone call between Mr. Trump and King Mohammed, building on talks led by Mr. Kushner and chief U.S. negotiator Avi Berkowitz.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the deal and said “this is the foundation on which we can now build this peace.”

Mr. Kushner said that the White House has seen “success” in the wave of countries that are normalizing ties with Israel. Many had traditionally resisted so long as the Israeli-Palestinian dispute was unresolved. Morocco’s king reportedly called Palestinian leaders after the new broke to tell them the kingdom still supported a two-state solution granting the Palestinians their own homeland.

“We’re seeing that a lot of countries want to keep this progress going,” he said, and hinted that Saudi Arabia could be next. “Israel and Saudi Arabia coming together and having full normalizations, at this point, is an inevitability,” he told reporters, adding that the timing is still in the works. But the agreement was not universally welcomed in Washington.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, expressed dismay at the U.S. concession regarding the Western Sahara, saying it broke with longstanding U.S. diplomacy and short-circuits a push for a referendum in the region on its future.

While praising Mr. Trump’s Middle East successes, Mr. Inhofe added, “I am saddened that the rights of the Western Saharan people have been traded away.”

But fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the administration’s diplomacy “has truly changed the landscape of the Middle East.”

“This agreement will allow for greater economic development and integration as well as further regional stability and security,” he said. “It is a win-win-win for Israel, Morocco, and the United States.”