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After Close To 21 Years, Israel To Reopen Morocco Mission In ‘Days’

01/11/2021

Israel’s former ambassador to Egypt will take up his new position in Rabat

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has selected a diplomat to reopen the Jewish state’s liaison office in Morocco, an official said, weeks after the two countries normalized ties.

David Govrin, who was Israel’s ambassador to Egypt from 2016 to 2020, will be the charge d’affaires in Rabat, taking up his position in “the next days,” an Israeli official told AFP.

Morocco and Israel in December signed a US-brokered normalization agreement in Rabat, with bilateral deals centering 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.

A Moroccan technical delegation visited the site two weeks ago to lay the groundwork for its reopening.

The North African kingdom was one of three Arab nations last year to normalize ties with the Jewish state under US-brokered deals after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with Sudan following suit last week.

Read More: I24