Slamming BDS criticism, Moroccan minister denies commercial relations with Israel

The Moroccan BDS movement launched a special campaign at the beginning of the month of Ramadan calling on merchants not to sell Israeli dates.

By MAAYAN GROISMAN
The pamphlet calling to boycott "Zionist dates" (photo credit: ARAB SOCIAL MEDIA)
The pamphlet calling to boycott "Zionist dates"
(photo credit: ARAB SOCIAL MEDIA)
Brushing off criticism from the BDS movement for allegedly trading with Israel, a senior Moroccan minister has denied the existence of any commercial relations between his country and the Jewish state.
Asked during a parliament meeting about the popularity of Israeli dates in Morocco during the fasting month of Ramadan, the Minister of Foreign Trade, Mohammad Abu, answered: "The government has not given anyone any license to import dates or other Israel-originated products."
Abu added that the official figures regarding Morocco's international trade indicate that "Morocco has no commercial relations with this entity."
The Moroccan BDS movement launched a special campaign at the beginning of the month of Ramadan calling on merchants not to sell Israeli dates, urging the government to take a clear stance on the issue and take the required measures to prevent Israeli dates from entering Morocco.
"The government is decisively fighting to prevent any Israeli product from entering Morocco in an illegal way," Abu stated.
Mahdi Mazwari, a member of the Moroccan Parliament, issued a press statement regarding the Israeli-Moroccan trade relations, saying that the products entering Morocco from Israel are valued at $50 million dollars.
"It is impossible that such a quantity enters Morocco through smuggling," he said, calling on the government to apply the law that prohibits any commercial transactions with Israel and outlaws the import of any Israeli product.