More than half of e-visas issued by Morocco granted to Israeli nationals

Israeli nationals received more than half of the electronic visas issued by Morocco, according to official data released by the Moroccan foreign ministry in a statement.

Rabat issued over 150,000 e-visas through its electronic system, which was launched last year to support the North African country's tourism sector. The e-visa allowed a short stay of a maximum of 30 days. 

The ministry statement said that 96.6 percent of the e-visas issued were tourist visas, while the rest were for business.

More than 110 nationalities benefitted from the e-visa system, the statement added, with Israelis making up 55 percent of the applicants.

Indian nationals made up 10 percent of applicants, while the rest of the top applicants came from Nigeria (4.44 percent), Egypt (4.41 percent), Pakistan (3.5 percent) and Jordan (2.7 percent).

Morocco upgraded ties with Israel in 2020, encouraged by then US President Donald Trump, through a controversial deal dubbed the Abraham Accords.

The deal with slammed by Palestinians and most of the Arab nationals as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.