Israel, Morocco agree to upgrade ties to full embassy level, exchange ambassadors

Israel and Morocco agreed on Wednesday, September 16, to elevate their diplomatic relations to full embassy level and exchange ambassadors for the first time, nearly six years after the two countries restored ties under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

The agreement was reached at a trilateral meeting in New York, held ahead of the UN General Assembly, between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz. According to a joint statement issued by the three countries, the parties reaffirmed the spirit of the Abraham Accords and confirmed their agreement on elevating the diplomatic missions between Morocco and Israel to full embassies and exchanging ambassadors, building on the Morocco-US-Israel joint declaration of December 22, 2020.

Israel currently maintains only a liaison office in Rabat rather than a full embassy; the upgrade would move representation to formal ambassadorial level for the first time since ties were re-established in 2020.

As part of the agreement, the three sides also committed to reinstating direct flights between Morocco and Israel, including services by Israeli and Moroccan carriers, before the end of the year. Israel and Morocco further agreed to finalise, by the end of 2026, separate agreements on investment protection and the prevention of double taxation, aimed at expanding bilateral trade and economic ties.

The statement also reaffirmed US and Israeli support for Morocco's sovereignty claim over Western Sahara and backed Rabat's Autonomy Plan as the basis for resolving the decades-old dispute, a position likely to draw criticism from Algeria, which severed ties with Morocco in 2021 amid tensions partly linked to the territory.

Morocco was one of four Arab countries, alongside the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, that moved to normalise relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords. The push to deepen ties comes despite continued public anger in Morocco over Israel's war in Gaza, with pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the country having repeatedly called on Rabat to sever relations with Israel altogether.