RABAT: Dozens of pro-Palestinian protestors protested outside Morocco’s parliament on Friday against the kingdom’s restoration of relations with Israel, after the Jewish state removed its senior diplomat from Rabat amid an investigation, according to AFP correspondents.
Around 100 protestors screamed anti-Morocco-Israeli slogans, denouncing its ambassador David Govrin and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.
According to Israeli public television Kan, a foreign ministry mission has been deployed to Rabat in response to sexual abuse charges against envoy Govrin.
An Israeli diplomatic source confirmed to AFP that Govrin had been recalled while an inquiry was conducted, but did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation.
The envoy is accused of exploiting Moroccan women, sexual harassment, and indecent exposure, according to Israeli media.
“Today, we are protesting in front of the parliament against the horrific deeds” allegedly performed by Govrin, said Amine Abdelhamid, a pro-Palestinian activist opposed to Moroccan-Israeli normalization.
“The dignity of Morocco is not for sale; normalization must end,” he declared.
At the conclusion of the protest, protesters burned an Israeli flag.
Rabat severed connections with Israel in 2000, following the commencement of the second Palestinian intifada, but Morocco reestablished ties with Israel in 2020, following the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The US-backed agreement recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
Govrin, 59, was Israel’s ambassador to Cairo before being named ambassador to Rabat last year.
When approached by AFP this week about the investigation, Israel’s foreign ministry declined to comment.
There have also been allegations of corruption and the loss of a present from Morocco’s ruler to commemorate Israel’s Independence Day.
According to an Israeli diplomatic source, Govrin is now in Israel and is involved in the ongoing inquiry.
Moroccan officials have not responded to the situation.
Source: AFP
