Moroccan Justice and Development Party politician and former Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane has angered Israel.
According to the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, which has close ties to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Benkirane praised the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and described Jews as “idiots” during a solidarity meeting with Gaza.
The newspaper, which describes the PJD as a former branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, claims that the Moroccan Jewish community has witnessed a rise in “anti-Israel” and “anti-Jewish” sentiment since October 7. These statements are said to be fueled by statements from politicians such as Benkirane and Nabila Mounib, a member of parliament for the leftist Socialist Union Party. Evidence of the alleged increase in “anti-Jewish sentiment” in Morocco remains lacking.
In Morocco, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators participated in hundreds of demonstrations in recent weeks, which took place in dozens of cities, to show support for the Palestinians. They are calling on their government to violate the normalization agreement with Israel, which was concluded at the end of 2020.
Benkirane, who was Prime Minister of Morocco until 2017, has repeatedly condemned the Israeli bombing of Gaza. He also called for severing relations with Israel and closing the Israeli liaison office in Rabat.
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