Israel Recognizes Western Sahara as Part of Morocco

© AP Photo / Mosa'ab ElshamyMoroccan and Israeli flags are displayed in the Moroccan Foreign Ministry in Rabat, Morocco
Moroccan and Israeli flags are displayed in the Moroccan Foreign Ministry in Rabat, Morocco - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 18.07.2023
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Morocco agreed to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the US-brokered "Abraham Accords". As part of the agreement, then-US President Donald Trump accepted to recognize Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Israel has recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office has confirmed to Sputnik.
A statement from Morocco's Foreign Ministry reportedly said Israel's position was articulated in a letter from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to King Mohammed VI.
Netanyahu remarked in the letter that Israel's position will be "reflected in all relevant acts and documents of the Israeli government."
The Israeli prime minister also said Tel Aviv is contemplating the opening of a consulate in the city of Dakhla (Western Sahara) as a means to implement the decision, according to the statement.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen stated that recognition of Western Sahara as Moroccan territory “will strengthen relations between the countries and the nations” and advance regional stability.

Foreign Minister Cohen with Kenya's Foreign Minister Mutua - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 17.07.2023
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The Western Sahara has remained the subject of a long-running international dispute for many decades. The independence of Western Sahara is sought by the Polisario Front, established in the mid-1970s, which, after the departure of the Spanish colonizers in 1975, proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and launched an armed struggle backed by Algeria.
Morocco considers Western Sahara to be an integral part of the Kingdom and permits only broad autonomy within it. Morocco and the Frente Polisario have held four rounds of negotiations since June 2007, but all have been fruitless.
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