Israel reopens Morocco mission

Jerusalem: Israel on Tuesday announced the re-opening of its diplomatic mission in Morocco, two decades after the office closed, following an agreement between the two countries to restore diplomatic ties. Head of Mission David Govrin, who was Israel's ambassador to Egypt from 2016 to 2020, has arrived in Rabat and 'will work towards the continued advancement of bilateral relations,' a foreign ministry statement said.

Morocco and Israel in December signed a US-brokered normalisation agreement in Rabat, with bilateral deals centring on direct air links, water management, connecting financial systems and a visa waiver arrangement for diplomats. Morocco closed its liaison office in Tel Aviv in 2000, at the start of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

The kingdom has North Africa's largest Jewish community of about 3,000 people, and Israel is home to 700,000 Jews of Moroccan origin. Morocco was one of three Arab nations last year to normalise ties with the Jewish state under US-brokered deals after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with Sudan following suit this month.

Israel opened an embassy in UAE's capital Abu Dhabi on Sunday, and announced on Tuesday the opening of a consulate in the economic hub of Dubai. 'This is an important day for peace and an exciting day in the implementation of our agreements with the UAE and Morocco,' Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said in the statement.