Los partidos islamistas marroquíes rechazan la normalización con Israel

Donald Trump's announcement of his recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara was not enough to please Morocco's Islamist parties for the normalisation of relations with Israel. The main Islamist groups, some of them at the head of Morocco's government, have rejected King Mohammed VI's agreement outright, as they consider it to be a direct attack on the Palestinian cause.

One of the most vehemently opposed has been the Movement for Unity and Reform (MUR), which is linked to the Islamist Justice and Development Party that won the past legislative elections and holds the head of government, though with very little room for manoeuvre. 

From the MUR, the decision has been described as "deplorable", and it has denounced "the Zionist occupation of Palestine". As the governing party, the PJD has qualified the words of its religious arm, and supported the decision of Rabat by also emphasising the position of Mohammed VI on the Palestinian cause. The PJD did rejoice, without nuance, at America's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

The Islamist Justice and Charity movement, which is currently outlawed, was another of the Islamist groups that took a radical stance against the agreement between Morocco and Israel. According to its statement, the agreement is a "stab in the back" for the Palestinians.

Morocco's main rival in the region, and with respect to Western Sahara, not for nothing is the most important support of the Polisario Front, which also rejected US recognition this weekend. The Algerian foreign ministry warned that the United States' decision "has no legal impact, as it contradicts the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council". 

The communiqué also stressed that this recognition throws off all the efforts made to reach a solution to the conflict in Western Sahara and de-escalate a situation that has become more tense in recent weeks.