Yair Lapid set to arrive in Rabat as Israel builds ties with Morocco
The visit comes as the two countries normalise their relations as part of the Abraham Accords
Yair Lapid will arrive in Morocco on Wednesday for the first senior visit by an Israeli minister since the two countries moved to normalise their relations last year.
The Israeli foreign minister is scheduled to meet Moroccan officials and open Israel’s liaison office in the capital Rabat.
The visit comes as part of the Abraham Accords, the treaties that saw Israel establish relations with four Arab countries for the first time.
The United Arab Emirates opened its first embassy in Tel Aviv earlier this summer, while Bahrain and Sudan have both recognised Israel.
Israel’s relations with Morocco have historically been less adversarial than with other Arab countries: Israeli ministers have visited the country in the past and the two countries had low-level diplomatic relations until the 1990s.
The ties were cut in 2000 when the second Palestinian Intifada began in 2000.
Yet thousands of Israelis have continued to travel to Morocco every year, many to trace their roots in a country that was once home to large Jewish communities.
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