Will 10,000 signatures be enough to end Morocco's normalisation with Israel?

In Morocco, over 10,000 people signed a petition to sever ties with Tel Aviv and close the Israeli office in the country, as the latest attempt by members of the public to compel Rabat to listen to their demands. 

"After normalisation fell popularly, nothing remains but to respond to the people's will," said Ahmed Wihman, the president of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalisation, in a press conference on Wednesday, 10 January.  

Since last October, local pro-Palestine groups have set up numerous desks for petition signing during the weekly anti-normalisation protests that have been taking place in the kingdom amidst the ongoing Gaza war. 

On Wednesday, the activists gathered at the headquarters of Rabat's Press Union to announce the outcome of their three-month-long grassroots. 

"The sorted list that will be submitted to the government office includes 10,200 signatures, while the law regulating petitions requires a minimum of 4,000 signatures," said Abdelrahane Benaamr, one of the petition's organisers. 

The pro-Palestine groups decided to submit the petition to the Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhennouch on Thursday, 11 January, the Anniversary of Moroccan militants' presenting the independence demand document.  

"Rejecting normalisation is equivalent, if not more, to rejecting colonisation, as normalisation with a colonising entity is more dangerous than colonisation itself," stressed Abdelatif Al-Hatimi, a member of The National Action Group for Palestine. 

Late in 2020, Morocco normalised ties with Israel under the US auspices. 

Despite public opposition, Rabat and Tel Aviv have managed to keep their partnership afloat, with several Moroccan politicians and public figures arguing for the economic and diplomatic benefits of maintaining ties with Israel.

The Gaza war marked a shifting point in the local opposition to the normalisation of Israel. 

Since 15 October, Morocco has witnessed unprecedented rallies and night protests in a firm call to close the Israeli liaison office in Rabat. 

The office is now "temporarily" closed after Israeli officials fled to Tel Aviv in mid-October over "security reasons,' according to the Israeli foreign ministry. 

However, local pro-Palestine groups demand an official position from Rabat, like the one it took two decades ago. 

After the Oslo Accords, Morocco started slowly normalising ties with Israel. However, amid the second intifada in 2000, Rabat decided to sever all public and diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv. 

"We expect the cancellation of normalisation and the closure of the Israeli communication office in Rabat. It has been delayed for too long," Aziz Hanawi, the general secretary of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalisation, told the New Arab. 

Despite the enthusiasm, many argue the legal efficacy of this petition, given that the kingdom's foreign policy is a prerogative of the King under the Constitution.

The 2011 constitution guarantees the Moroccan King "accreditation of ambassadors to foreign countries and international organisations" and the "signing and ratifying treaties." 

"If the law allows submitting the petition to the king, we would do so," Hanawi responded.