Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has intervened in a major North African dispute putting massive pressure on Rishi Sunak and the UK to use Brexit freedoms follow suit.
The Israeli government has supported Morocco’s claim to the disputed Western Sahara region thanks to a major peace deal brokered by Donald Trump’s administration in 2020 which has been described as the former President’s “biggest foreign policy achievement”.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said recognition of Western Sahara as Moroccan territory “will strengthen relations between the countries and the nations” and advance regional stability.
A source working with the Moroccan government said that the significance of the deal was part of “the unsung legacy” of Trump’s foreign policy between 2017 and 2021.
The dispute over the Western Sahara has been raging since 1975 and been subject to a number of attempted resolutions by the United Nations, with Morocco claiming sovereignty over it.
With Trump the clear frontrunner to be the Republican candidate again in the US Presidential the strengthening relationship between Israel and an Arab country which used to be an enemy will help boost his claims for a return to the White House.
The Abraham Accords were signed with Trump as a witness between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain with Morocco joining two month later.
It was the first time Arab nations and Israel had put aside their differences and formed an agreement.
A senior source working with the Moroccan government said: “This is the Abraham Accords in action.
“Israel and Morocco only reestablished diplomatic relations three years ago at the signing of the Accords.
“Israel taking this step speaks to their confidence that the Abraham Accords have fostered stability and ushered in change within the MENA region.”
Now Mr Sunak is under pressure to follow Israel’s lead and use Britain’s diplomatic muscle in the region to side with Morocco and help end the dispute.
One Conservative MP told Express.co.uk: “Really this is exactly where we should be looking at our Brexit freedoms and reframing our foreign policy.”
Meanwhile, Tory peer Baron Polak, the Conservative Friends of Israel honorary president, said: “It is a good thing that Israel has recognised Moroccan sovereignty in the Sahara region.
“Having recently visited the area myself I was impressed with the significant investment into the area made by the Moroccan government.
“The benefits to the region of the Abraham Accords are limitless and their importance for the stability of the Middle East should not be underestimated.”
Israel’s intervention also follows on the heels last month of Italy praising Morocco’s ‘serious and credible’ solution to the Western Sahara dispute, Germany’s support for the Western Sahara Autonomy Plan in 2022, as well as Spain’s support for the Autonomy Plan in March of the same year.
