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

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City Name

Rabat

Morocco

October 15, 2026

Rabat 11:46 pm

19°C

Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, Morocco's newly appointed head of government

Culture

Who is Fatima El Mansouri, Morocco’s first woman prime minister?

Her appointment marks the first time a woman has served as Morocco’s head of government and the second time a woman has held the position in the Arab world.

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

The move will mark the first time Morocco and Israel have exchanged ambassadors.

UDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Fueled by regional rivalries, Algeria severs diplomatic ties with UAE

Algiers accused Abu Dhabi of increasingly “provocative and hostile actions” after years of friction over Morocco, Western Sahara and competing regional interests.

Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, speaks to the media during a FIFA World Cup 2026 Opening Press Conference at Mexico City Stadium on June 10, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico.

Analysis

FIFA in turmoil: Middle East takes center stage as Infantino fights to stay in power

Amid the backlash to FIFA President Gianni Infantino's controversial investment plan, upcoming World Cup hosts Morocco and Saudi Arabia have starring roles in the drama.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Latest News

Explainer

Estimated 60,000 migrants cross from Morocco into Spanish territory: What we know

Ceuta

Explainer

France-Morocco ties get an energy jolt as historic heatwaves pressure Europe

Director of European Affairs and Customs at La Poste Groupe Christelle Defaye-Geneste (L) and Morocco's Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour (R) sign agreements between La Poste Groupe and Barid Al-Maghrib, alongside France's Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu (C-L) and his Moroccan counterpart, Aziz Akhannouch, during a meeting in Rabat on July 16, 2026.

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

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.

Oman praises Israel-Morocco relations

Oman has yet to recognize Israel officially, despite speculation that the sultanate would do so.

Western Sahara media, activists criticize US decision to recognize Moroccan sovereignty

US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United States had accepted Morocco's claim to disputed Western Sahara and that Morocco and Israel were establishing full relations.

Moroccan Jews and Israeli Jewish tourists participate in a religious ceremony to observe the holiday of Sukkot (the Feast of the Tabernacles) at a synagogue in the "Mellah" Jewish quarter of the Medina in Marrakesh on October 13, 2017.
The once teeming Jewish area of Moroccan tourist gem Marrakesh is seeing its fortunes revived as visitors including many from Israel flock to experience its unique culture and history. / AFP PHOTO / FADEL SENNA (Photo credit should read FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Normalization with Morocco warms Israeli hearts

Unlike the normalization deals with Bahrain and with the United Arab Emirates, the imminent deal between Israel and Morocco will be built on centuries of common history and heritage.

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump looks on during a ceremony presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to wrestler Dan Gable in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on December 7, 2020. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump announces Israel-Morocco normalization deal

Under the deal, the United States will also recognize disputed Western Sahara as Moroccan territory.

A United Nations car drives past the Mechouar square on May 14, 2013 in Laayoune, the capital of Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. Six Sahrawi activists arrested this month after pro-independence protests in Western Sahara said they were tortured by Moroccan police and made to sign confessions, Amnesty International charged on May 16, 2013. AFP PHOTO /FADEL SENNA / AFP / FADEL SENNA (Photo credit should read FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan plans consulate in Western Sahara amid flareup

The Jordanian consulate will reportedly be located in Laayoune, the largest city in the disputed region.