In one of the country’s largest demonstrations for months, the demonstrators have filled the streets of the capital Rabat.
Tens of thousands of Moroccans went down to the streets to protest the punitive assault of Israel against Gaza and its people, also leading their anger against the United States and its support for the 18-month war.
In one of the country’s largest demonstrations for months, the demonstrators have filled the areas of the capital Rabat on Sunday, trampled on the Israeli flags, holding banners of murdered leaders of Hamas and waving posters combining the Palestinians moved with American President Donald Trump.
The organizers denounced the military campaign of Israel, which killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, and still moved hundreds of thousands, because it broke a ceasefire with intensive air and ground attacks last month.
Since the start of the war, more than 50,700 Palestinians have been killed and more than 115,300 have been injured.
The demonstrations of Morocco echoed similar demonstrations through the Middle East and North Africa, where pro-Palestinian gatherings took place in Tunisia, Yemen and the economic center of Morocco, Casablanca.
The fury with Washington was at the forefront, in particular on Trump’s proposal to force the Palestinians forcibly to make way for the redevelopment of Gaza. The Arab nations have criticized the plan and the rights defense groups qualified it as ethnic cleaning. The demonstrators also condemned American repression on pro-Palestinian activism on university campuses.
“Gaza is wiped on the card”
Many Moroccans consider Trump’s position as a continuation of policies under his predecessor, former American president Joe Biden.
“(Trump) aggravated war,” said Mohammed Toussi, who traveled from Casablanca with his family to join the demonstration, speaking to the Associated Press news agency.
“Biden has hidden certain things, but Trump has shown everything,” he added, arguing that their policies differ in tone but not in substance.
Abdelhak El Arabi, adviser to the former conservative Prime Minister of Morocco, said that the public’s indignation had only grown as the war was dragging.
“It is not a war – Gaza is wiped out of the card,” said the 62 -year -old Tamena resident, addressing AP.
A large coalition of groups has joined the demonstrations. While the Moroccan authorities tolerate most of the demonstrations, they arrested activists accused of having targeted foreign embassies or to link their criticism to the monarchy.
Many demonstrators are angry with Morocco’s decision in 2020 to normalize links with Israel, a decision that triggered controversy at the time and continues to feed dissatisfaction.
Morocco has signed the Abraham agreements, a foreign policy of the first Trump administration, which saw the United Arab Emirates (Water), Bahrain and Sudan to standardize relations with Israel in exchange for various diplomatic and financial agreements.
Nevertheless, the public feeling towards Israel has rarely been conciliatory in Morocco, as in many Arab states.
