Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held secret talks with Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in September, US news website Axios has reported.
The meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, included the two countries’ efforts to curb Iranian influence in the region, the website reported on Monday.
The latest on #Arab normalisation with #Israel’s Netanyahu secretly met Morocco FM https://t.co/YOrnpMmqYx
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) February 18, 2019
The North African kingdom cut ties with Iran in May over the latter’s support for the Polisario Front, a Western Saharan independence movement.
Bourita told Al Jazeera at the time that Rabat had incriminating evidence on Iran’s role in supporting the secessionist movement.
Morocco’s chief diplomat said Hezbollah agents provided financial as well as logistical support to the Polisario through the Iranian embassy in neighboring Algeria.
Israel’s Netanyahu secretly met Morocco foreign minister Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly met Moroccan … March ahead of the Israeli elections on 9 April, taking advantage … https://t.co/Sh31DYh2VL #news #politics #breakingnews
— BreakingNewsFeeds (@GlobalNewsFeeds) February 19, 2019
Netanyahu and Bourita also discussed restoring ties between the two countries, which enjoyed full diplomatic relations in the years between 1995 and 2000, after the Oslo Accords had been signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization(PLO).
An Israeli official said Netanyahu was interested in making a public visit to Morocco, similar to the one he made to Oman last year.
#Israeli media continues to leak information of Israeli-Arab normalization as #Netanyahu lets out his sharpest punches to secure political survival.
” https://t.co/Dng4zllP2k pic.twitter.com/LNNVajeAXn
— Morocco World News (@MoroccoWNews) February 18, 2019
The prime minister’s office declined to confirm the meeting had taken place, saying, “We do not comment on contacts with countries Israel has no formal relations with.”
There was no comment from the Moroccan authorities on the report.
With the exception of Jordan and Egypt, which have signed peace agreements with Israel, no Arab state has official relations with Tel Aviv.
(AJE, PC, Social Media)