Hamas urges Morocco to reverse Israel deals

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian resistance group Hamas has called on Morocco to reverse its security and military agreements with Israel.

Describing the move as a “setback”, Hamas said signing security and military deals with Tel Aviv “can’t be justified under any pretext."

"The strategic interests of our Arab nation of which Morocco is part can't be achieved by making alliance with the nation's enemy and the enemy of the Palestinian people," the statement said.

Hamas termed Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s recent visit to Morocco as “a great sin to the Palestinian people and their cause".

“[Gantz] is a war criminal who has always taken pride in killing Arabs and Palestinians,” the statement said.

Gantz visited Morocco on Tuesday for a two-day visit, during which he signed an agreement with Morocco to sell Israeli drones and "advanced weapons" systems to Rabat. He also signed a memorandum of understanding on defense between Israel and Morocco.

On Dec. 10, 2020, Israel and Morocco announced the resumption of diplomatic relations that were suspended in 2002, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara