Activists: Israel officers providing martial arts training in Morocco

Former Israeli military officers have been providing training to martial arts practitioners in Morocco, pro-Palestinian groups revealed at a joint press conference yesterday, according to Arab48.

Despite Morocco and Israel having no formal ties, the National Action Group for Palestine and the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalisation found that the Alpha Training Institute for Special Guards in Meknes has been working alongside Israeli officers.

The two organisations said that the extent of cooperation had varied from implicit normalisation via communication, to the direct recruitment of individuals and groups that had been subject to Israeli military training.

“The wave of normalisation is no longer limited to visits and raising the flag of the Zionists and the presence of sports teams, but the development of the matter to threaten the safety of the country,” National Working Group for Palestine coordinator Abdelkader Al-Alami said, referring to Israel’s controversial participation in a Judo competition in Agadir last month, during which Israeli flags were raised.

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Al-Alami said that the two organisations had held a meeting with the Minister of State in charge of Human Rights Mustafa Al-Ramid in February in which they presented their findings. Despite promising to address the issue, the groups have not received any official response on the status of the investigation, prompting them to release the information publicly.

During the press conference, General Director of the Moroccan Observatory Against Normalisation Aziz Hanawi presented video footage of combat training and training in firearms and white weapons advertised by the institute. According to Hanawi, the institute offers military training under the supervision of Israeli soldiers, and has previously published provocative videos and speeches directed at members of the Moroccan army, aimed at weakening morale.

Hanawi concluded that the facts suggested that attempts at normalisation between Morocco and Israel, a proposal that been opposed by numerous segments of Moroccan society, was underway.

The Moroccan government has had to repeatedly confirm that the country has no official relations with Israel and has no plans to change its position on the issue in the future.

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