Gov't to approve sending Morocco normalization deal to Knesset for a vote

The deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were both sent to the Knesset for a vote and then returned to the government for ratification.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner (L) and Israel's National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat are seen in Rabat disembarking from the first direct El Al flight from Israel to Morocco on December 22, 2020. (photo credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner (L) and Israel's National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat are seen in Rabat disembarking from the first direct El Al flight from Israel to Morocco on December 22, 2020.
(photo credit: AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/GPO)
The government is expected to approve on Sunday sending the normalization deal with Morocco to the Knesset for approval.
An initial declaration to resume ties with Morocco, severed 20 years ago, was signed in Rabat last month, at a ceremony with Israeli, Moroccan and US officials.
It was the last of four normalization deals former US president Donald Trump’s administration brokered under the rubric of the Abraham Accords.
The deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were both sent to the Knesset for a vote and then returned to the government for ratification.
The deal with Sudan has not yet been voted on. The Morocco deal differs slightly from the other three in that Morocco had low level relations with Israel from 1994 to 2000. The relations were severed when the Second Intifada broke out in 2000.
Now a deal for the establishment of full diplomatic relations of peace and friendship between the two countries is moving forward.
 The declaration recalled "the exchanged views, during the... conversation between His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Excellency Donald Trump, on the current situation in the Middle East region in which His Majesty the King reiterated the coherent, constant and unchanged position of the Kingdom of Morocco on the Palestinian question, as well as the position expressed on the importance of preserving the special status of the sacred city of Jerusalem for the three monotheistic religions in His Majesty the King's capacity as Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee."
It recognized "the historic role that Morocco has always played in bringing the people of the region closer together and promoting peace and stability in the Middle East, and given the special ties that His Majesty maintains with the Moroccan Jewish community living in Morocco and throughout the world including in Israel."
The declaration was "mindful that the establishment of full diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations is in the common interest of both countries and will advance the cause of peace in the region, improve regional security an unlock new opportunities for the whole region."
The document grants "authorization for direct flights" and calls to "resume full official contacts between Israeli and Moroccan counterparts and establish full diplomatic peaceful and friendly relations."
In the declaration, the two countries agree to "promote a dynamic and innovative economic bilateral cooperation."
They promised to "pursue cooperation on trade; finance an investment; innovation and technology; civil aviation; visas and consular services; tourism; water, agriculture and food security; development, energy and telecommunications; and other sectors as may be agreed." The two countries also pledged to reopen liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv.
The government and the Knesset can vote on the matter doing the election period, because the document itself was signed in Rabat before the government fell.