Moroccans protest outside Rabat parliament against Israel's Jenin attack

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Moroccan Parliament in Rabat on Friday evening to condemn Israel’s recent assault on Jenin and slam Morocco’s normalisation of ties with Tel Aviv.

The rally, organised by the National Action Group for Palestine and Moroccan Initiative for Support and Victory, saw activists chant pro-palestine slogans and wave flags and banners. The event was also supported by the National Labour Union of Morocco (UNMT) and the Democratic Confederation of Labour (CDT).

“The Moroccan people salute Jenin and the resolve of the Palestinian resistance, and demand the abolition of the shameful agreements with the Zionist enemy,” read one banner at the protest.

Ahmed Wehman, head of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalization, told The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that the protest aimed to tell Moroccan officials that they are complicit in Israel’s actions, due to the normalisation agreement.

"We stand before the Moroccan Parliament to send these messages and to say that what is being done in terms of normalisation and agreements with these criminals is not in the name of the Moroccan people, but against the will of the people who always consider Palestine to be a national issue of importance," he said.

Wehman also slammed Moroccan royal advisor Andre Azoulay, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honour by Israeli Preisdent Isaac Herzog last week for his role in cementing the Abraham Accords. 

"We stand in front of parliament to tell Andre Azoulay: How did you face Moroccans after the fascist [Israeli] army moved to slaughter Palestinian children in the streets of Jenin, just hours after you were honoured by the head of the [Israeli] occupation entity with the Presidential Medal of Honour?"

Israel began its assault on Jenin on Monday, killing 13 Palestinians - including four children - injuring dozens and displacing more than 4,000 during the four-day operation.

On Tuesday, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita called for international intervention to stop the assault, saying it threatens "what little peace remains in the region."

Rabat normalised ties with Tel Aviv late in 2020 under the US auspices. Amid rising opposition to the state's decision, the palace released a communiqué last March stressing that "the foreign policy of the kingdom is a prerogative of His Majesty under the Constitution."