Israel recognises Western Sahara as part of Morocco

Morocco claims sovereignty over territory, but other countries back separatist movement.
A statement from Morocco’s royal palace said Israel’s position was expressed in a letter to King Mohammed VI from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Morocco has had control of the territory, but little international recognition, since 1975 after Spanish colonial rule ended.

The Algerian-backed Polisario Front demands an independent state in Western Sahara. In 2020, then-US President Donald Trump recognised Morocco’s claim to the territory in return for its partial upgrade of relations with Israel.

The Israeli position “will be sent to the United Nations, regional and international organisations … as well as all the states Israel has diplomatic relations with”, the statement from Morocco’s royal palace quotes the letter as saying.


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Script:
Why has Israel stepped into a regional conflict in North Africa? Tel Aviv has just confirmed it believes that Morocco has sovereignty over Western Sahara. It's a disputed area of North Africa, fought over and debated over for decades by groups like the Parliamentary Front who want full independence. By acknowledging Morocco's sovereignty, what does Israel get out of this? And what does Morocco get out of this by actually allowing Israel to confirm the sovereignty? Moreover, what happens to Morocco in terms of siding with Israel and allowing it to become more closer to Tel Aviv? Will it alienate the Muslim and Arab world from Morocco when everybody perhaps sees Israel as an occupying state, not giving the Palestinians the right to self-determination and the eventual two-state solution that everybody's looking for.
To be discussing this on Inside Story, you can watch this on television, online or even on YouTube.