Morocco - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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City Name

Rabat

Morocco

February 11, 2026

Rabat 2:44 pm

18°C

Archaeologists at the entrance of the Contrebandiers (Smugglers) Cave, some 12 miles from the Moroccan capital, Rabat, Sept. 18, 2021.

Culture

Fossil discovery repositions Morocco at center of human evolution 800,000 years ago

Once overlooked, Morocco has emerged as a focal point of human prehistory, with new discoveries and a landmark report reshaping what we know about our species’ evolution.

An emergency vehicle drives through flood waters as residents are evacuated and relocated to other towns as preventive and emergency evacuations are carried out to move residents living near flood-prone areas following the weather alert and the rise in the water level of the Loukkos River, with flooding expected in the coming days, in Ksar El Kebir on Feb. 1, 2026.

Storm Leonardo displaces 140,000 as heavy floods hit northern Morocco

Heavy rains from the storm have flooded northern Morocco, prompting mass evacuations and straining emergency services.

From Egypt to Lebanon: What’s at stake for regional states on Trump’s visa ban list?

The State Department claimed that citizens from the affected countries are more likely to use social welfare services at a high rate.

A customer browses books at a bookshop in the Moroccan capital Rabat on August 9, 2018. On the main arteries of old Rabat, dozens of itinerant booksellers offer books in French, Arabic, and sometimes in English, up to ten times cheaper than their originals. Despite being prohibited, the pirated-books market is largely tolerated in cities across the North African kingdom. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Morocco’s next generation of writers fights for a place on the shelf

A new book fair in Casablanca spotlights the country’s rising talent and the obstacles that still define Morocco’s fragmented publishing world.

Latest News

Morocco’s markets rise as World Cup spending fuels largest IPO in decades

CASABLANCA, MOROCCO - AUGUST 20: In this handout image from Populous, digital renderings of the proposed Stade Hassan II stadium in Morocco, projected to be the largest football stadium in the world with 115,000 capacity are depicted on August 20, 2024 in Casablanca, Morocco. The stadium design is by Populous and Oulalou + Choi (Photo by Populous via Handout/Getty Images)

Culture

World Cup: Iran fumes over LGBTQ+ themes as Jordan qualifies for first time

A fan waves a Pride flag before the soccer match between the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers at Lumen Field, on June 3, 2023, in Seattle, Washington.

Spain, Morocco dismantle drone network flying hashish across border

The Civil Guard, in a joint operation with the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie, has dismantled a criminal organization dedicated to smuggling hashish into Spain using drones, on Nov. 11, 2025.

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

A Sahrawi soldier waves the Sahrawi flag during a parade marking the 45th anniversary of the declaration of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), at a refugee camp on the outskirts of the southwestern Algerian city of Tindouf, on Feb. 27, 2021.

Tensions between Morocco, Polisario Front remain after leader's killing

Polisario Front Police Chief Addah al-Bendir was murdered. And much like the long-simmering dispute between the Front and Morocco, nothing about his death is clear.

Iranian pharmaceutical factory

Surprising economic upside seen for Egypt, Morocco and Iran

Reports this month by the IMF and the US intelligence community also underscore troubling trendlines.

Freedom House: Syria, Western Sahara worst in world for political rights

The think tank also downgraded Jordan to "not free" in its 2021 democracy rankings.

Israel reopens liaison office in Morocco

The mission's reopening comes a month after Israel and Morocco agreed to establish diplomatic and economic ties.

United Arab Emirates

David Schenker, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, (L) meets with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita during a meeting in Dakhla in Morocco-administered Western Sahara, on January 10, 2021. - Schenker is visiting the contested Western Sahara after Washington recognised Morocco's sovereignty there in exchange for Rabat normalising ties with Israel. Western Sahara is a disputed and divided former Spanish colony, mostly under Morocco's control, where tensions with the pro-independen

Israel’s Cabinet approves diplomatic relations with Morocco

The agreement calls for "diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations" between the two governments.

Young Israeli singer wins over fans with Moroccan Arabic voice

Israeli artist Ron Peretz embraces the Moroccan Arabic she learned at home in hip hop music that is conquering hearts in Israel and the Arab world.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (L) and his Bahraini counterpart Abdellatif al-Zayani (R), inaugurate Bahrain's consulate in Laayoun, the main city in Morocco's disputed region of Western Sahara, on december 14, 2020. - Bahrain opened the consulate in Western Sahara, as Morocco steps up a diplomatic push to strengthen its position in the disputed territory. Bahrain's King Hamad told Moroccan King Mohamed VI of the decision to open a mission in the coastal city of Laayoune during a phone call, the M

Egypt denies plans to join states opening Western Sahara consulates

Cairo has denied Moroccan reports that Egypt plans to inaugurate a consulate in Western Sahara, which has been disputed for decades between Morocco and the Polisario Front backed by Algeria.

Chief economist at Israel's Ministry of Finance Shira Greenberg (L) and Morocco's Director General Of the Customs and Indirect Tax Administration at the Ministry of Economy and Finance Nabil Lakhdar exchange a signed agreement at the Royal Palace in the Moroccan capital Rabat on December 22, 2020, on the first Israel-Morocco direct commercial flight, marking the latest US-brokered diplomatic normalisation deal between the Jewish state and an Arab country. - (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENN

Moroccan officials arrive in Israel to reopen liaison office

An administrative Moroccan delegation arrived in Israel to reopen the liaison office following normalization of ties between the two countries.

TOPSHOT - Director General of Israel's Population and Immigration Agency Shlomo Mor-Yosef (L) and Minister Delegate to Morocco's Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohcine Jazouli sign an agreement at the Royal Palace in the Moroccan capital Rabat on December 22, 2020, on the first Israel-Morocco direct commercial flight, marking the latest US-brokered diplomatic normalisation deal between the Jewish state and an Arab country. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Fourth elections in Israel: Netanyahu’s Moroccan card

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, renewal of ties with Rabat means one thing: possible support of hundreds of thousands of Israelis of Moroccan origins.

Moroccans celebrate in front of the parliament building in Rabat on December 13, 2020, after the US adopted a new official map of Morocco that includes the disputed territory of Western Sahara. - Western Sahara is a disputed and divided former Spanish colony, mostly under Morocco's control, where tensions with the pro-independence Polisario Front have simmered since the 1970s. Morocco became the fourth Arab state this year, after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, to announce it had agreed to norm

Kushner, Israeli delegation arrive in Morocco on first direct flight

Israeli and Moroccan officials are expected to sign the first of several accords cementing relations between the two countries.

A Moroccan man walks next to a Palestinian flag during a demonstration against the US Middle East peace plan in the capital Rabat on February 9, 2020. - Morocco has warming but quiet relations with Israel, although they do not enjoy formal diplomatic ties. Israel and Morocco opened "liaison" offices in each other's countries in the mid-1990s but Rabat closed them after an escalation of Palestinian-Israeli violence in 2000. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Why Palestinians found Moroccan normalization easier to take

Unlike Israel's normalization deals with the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, the most recent one with Morocco caused little anger among Palestinians.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Special adviser to the president Jared Kushner (L) and Ivanka Trump arrive to the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Witnessed by President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu signed a peace deal with the UAE and a declaration of intent to make peace with Bahrain. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

White House's Kushner to visit Israel, Morocco following normalization agreement

Senior Trump administration adviser Jared Kushner will lead a US and Israeli delegation to Morocco next week.