According to a report by Middle East Monitor, the decision to open a Moroccan embassy in Israel is contingent on Tel Aviv’s recognition of the disputed Western Sahara.

The report disclosed that four former and current Israeli officials claimed the subject had been discussed several times with Rabat. Despite Morocco having multiple liaison offices in Israel and committing to opening an embassy in Tel Aviv, the Moroccan authorities have demanded recognition of its sovereignty over Western Sahara; however, Israeli officials have raised the issue over several bilateral talks.

This predicament has been discussed between Rabat and Tel Aviv since Morocco signed the US-brokered normalization deal with Israel under former US president Donald Trump’s administration, which also recognized Rabat’s territorial claims.

Last month, Israel and Morocco signed a natural gas exploration deal in an agreement between Israel’s NewMed Energy and Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines.

Under the terms of the agreements, NewMed and Adarco will each hold a 37.5 percent interest in the Boujdour Atlantique exploration license, located off Morocco’s coast in the Atlantic Ocean. According to Morocco World News, Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines will hold the remaining 25 percent.

However, Moroccan political parties and activists have rejected normalizing relations with Israel and held numerous protests against the move.

On 29 November 2022, thousands of people took to the streets of various cities and towns across Morocco to protest against the deepening ties between Rabat and Tel Aviv.

The protests, organized by a coalition of activists under the banner of the “The Moroccan Front to Support Palestine and against Normalization,” drew large crowds in the cities of Oujda, Berkane, Ben Slimane, Beni-Mellal and Oulad Teima. Heavily armed police officers violently repressed similar protests in the capital Rabat.

The protesters, who chanted anti-Israeli slogans, condemned their government’s increased collaboration with Tel Aviv. They say it is unacceptable for any Arab country to normalize relations with Israel while occupying Palestinian land.