The Deal Behind Israel-Morocco Normalization Involving Trump

JAKARTA - Morocco is the fourth country in the Middle East and North Africa region to agree to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. This is an achievement of the policies of the administration of the President of the United States (US) Donald Trump which continues to shore up support for Israel.

As part of the deal, the US announced that it "recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara region." A big victory for the Moroccan government.

But it also means ignoring the locals' longstanding declarations of independence. They called the Moroccan government unfair and often carried out acts of violence.

"Another HISTORY breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends, Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco, have agreed to full diplomatic relations, a major breakthrough for peace in the Middle East!" Trump said via his Twitter account.

Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the "historic" peace agreement between Israel and Morocco. Netanyahu also praised Trump for what he called an "extraordinary effort" to bring peace to the region.

Citing CNN, Friday, December 11, Netanyahu also thanked the King of Morocco for making the historic decision to bring historic peace between Israel-Morocco.

Netanyahu said the liaison office would reopen as soon as possible. Other efforts will follow, such as opening embassies and full diplomatic relations, as well as direct flights between countries.

Morocco was once home to the largest Jewish population in the Middle East and North Africa. Most of the Jews then fled to Europe and the US after Israel declared independence in 1948.

Many Jews in Arab countries fear for their safety. Normalizing Moroccan-Israeli relations can encourage many Moroccan Jews to visit their ancestral homeland, Israel.

Morocco's move follows the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan, which first established diplomatic relations with Israel. The deals were largely brokered by Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and a team of negotiators.

Kushner cited the strong US-Morocco relationship as the main reason for recognizing Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara. Kushner said the US recognized Moroccan sovereignty "which is inevitable."

"Today we announce that the US will recognize Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara. This is something that has been talked about for a long time but seems inevitable. At this point, it is something that we think is advancing the region and helping to bring more clarity, where it is headed, "said Kushner.

Kushner's attempts to mediate relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia have so far failed. However, Kushner, on a recent trip, managed to secure a deal to allow Israeli commercial flights to use Saudi Arabian airspace.