Israel Offers Support To Morocco Over Western Sahara After Summit

On March 27th, Israel hosted a landmark summit in which foreign ministers from Morocco, Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States met to discuss a myriad of international issues. They also met to illustrate successful steps towards normalizing relations between Israel and Arab countries in the Middle East. During this two-day retreat in Sde Boker, Morocco discussed the subject of the long-disputed Western Sahara region, where Israel then voiced support for the country’s autonomy proposal for the desert positioned on the northwest coast of Africa. 

Ultimately, Morocco considers Western Sahara its own, while the Polisario Front demands it be a sovereign state. Thus, Western Sahara has been the subject of a prolonged territorial dispute between Morocco and its indigenous Saharawi people, led by the Polisario Front, who are an independent group backed by the kingdom’s rival Algeria. A former Spanish colony, the Western Sahara territory was illegally annexed through invasion and occupation by both the Moroccan and Mauritanian military in 1975 after Spain withdrew.

Today, as detailed by the United Nations, Western Sahara is the only African territory still under colonial occupation. Additionally, by way of this event, Morocco and Mauritania violated the 1975 ICJ declaration that neither nation has territorial sovereignty regarding Western Sahara. A year later, the Polisario Front, recognized by the UN as “the only legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people,” announced the establishment of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as an independent state. Following this, a 16-year armed struggle between the kingdom and the independent movement lasted until a ceasefire was reached in 1991. However, the Polisario declared the ceasefire void in 2020 and has since begun new attacks on Moroccan forces.   

In this proposal, first submitted in 2006 to the UN, Morocco ​​would grant autonomy to the people of Western Sahara, and the Sahawaris would run their government under Moroccan sovereignty. Additionally, it is noted that Morocco would control defense and foreign affairs for the territory. Although the U.S. and Israel have announced strong support of Morocco’s plan for autonomy in order to settle the long-standing conflict, as well as reported backing from Spain, many international organizations, including the UN, do not recognize Moroccan control, rather, calling Western Sahara a “non-self-governing territory.” Furthermore, under international law, Western Sahara is not a legal part of Morocco, and it remains under the international laws of military occupation.

With assistance from the Trump administration, Israel has been successful in signing diplomatic relations and shaping new, peaceful ties with four Arab League nations, including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco since 2020. Foreign Policy notes that it is assumed these normalization deals were motivated by self-interest, such as favors and closer proximity to the U.S. Thus, it can be speculated that Israel’s recent support for Morocco’s plans for Western Sahara serves as a quid pro quo. Additionally, the summit touched primarily on concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear deal. Therefore, it is in both Israel and Morocco’s best interest to strengthen relations, through means such as the proposal, in order to facilitate a unified front against the threat of Iran. Further, Morocco officially cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2018 because the latter nation funded the Polisario Front, said Al Jazeera.

Morocco and the Polisario Front are still unable to reach an agreement, as referendums and compromises have not been successful through the mediation by international organizations. The disintegration of the 30-year UN-organized ceasefire and the recent violent escalation has occurred primarily the United Nations failed to implement the referendum, therefore creating a long-lived political stagnation of the situation; where frustration and negative outlooks regarding Western Sahara have now erupted above the surface. As Antonio Guterres announced, the conflict has “significantly deteriorated,” and the “resumption of hostilities between Morocco and Frente Polisario is a major setback toward the achievement of a political solution.” It is quite a disappointing state of affairs, where if successful, open communication had been prioritized in the last few decades, this dispute would look very different today, and peaceful resolutions may have been established by now.   

Now, it is crucial that international organizations step up to the task of finding a peaceful solution that works for all parties involved. The EU, Amnesty International, the UN, the African Union, and major nations that have historically and presently been engaged in the conflict must cast aside their past differences and collaborate to reach a sound plan. This will lessen the violence observed within the territory as well create a space for positive change. It is important to remember that although this issue may appear as an isolated dispute, it has far-reaching consequences: for the countries directly affected, the general region, and broader international community.

Further, the conflict has human, political, and economic impacts as a result of violence and instability within and around the territory, resulting in many victims. Additionally, the current UN peacekeeping mission, MINURSO, must carry out the referendum in Western Sahara with more pressure, as this has exacerbated diplomatic inaction. Suppose the UN and similar organizations and nations are genuinely passionate about resolving the Western Sahara dispute and ending the violence, pain, and displacement civilians have had to endure. In that case, there must be a devotion to putting more resources into this conflict. With the crisis only worsening and more nations breaking diplomacy to form direct sides, real action must be taken to invest more resources into peace talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front. If little change is made or revised regarding the matter, there will be no end to one of the oldest disputes, and the region will continue to be afflicted by instability. 

 

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