Israeli Interior Minister Shaked is on a four-day visit to Morocco. The goal is to attract more Moroccan workers to Israel in the future.
On Tuesday, Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina) caused a stir when she declared herself the first Israeli to publicly recognize the kingdom's sovereignty over Western Sahara. She is the third high-ranking Israeli politician to visit Morocco in recent months.
The matter of Western Sahara
The Moroccan news agency "Maghreb Arabe Presse," however, reported that Shaked had "reaffirmed" the Israeli position. Indeed, the recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara was a key component of the normalization agreement with Israel. This specifically concerned official recognition by the United States. But Israel, as a primary ally, would have been ill-advised to oppose it.
Foreign Minister Jair Lapid (Yesh Atid) also recently commented on the Western Sahara issue, albeit very indirectly: “Attempts to weaken Moroccan sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said at the Negev Summit in March, “must be countered.”.
Morocco has laid claim to the resource-rich territory on the Atlantic coast since the colonial power Spain withdrew in 1975. However, various groups in Western Sahara are demanding independence.
Moroccan “guest workers” for Israel
Shaked discussed a plan with Moroccan Interior Minister Abdeluafi Laftit to send Moroccan workers to Israel. Thousands of jobs are needed, particularly in construction and healthcare. A pilot project could begin very soon. By early 2023, more than 10,000 Moroccans could be working in Israel. Moroccan construction workers in Israel would earn twice as much as in their home country, even with minimum wage requirements, according to Yitzhak Mojal, head of the construction and woodworkers' union within the Histadrut trade union federation.
Laftit and Shaked also discussed cooperation in the medical field and in water desalination. Shaked proposed a plan for integrating Moroccan engineers into the Israeli technology sector.
Full diplomatic relations
Shaked thanked his counterpart for the relaxed visa requirements for Israelis entering Morocco. The two countries should resume their "full official relations." Neither country has yet opened a fully-fledged embassy in the other. According to Shaked's office, the ministers also discussed the "Iranian problem.".
The visit coincided with the time when Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (Yamina) announced the impending dissolution of the Israeli parliament.
