While a majority in Morocco’s parliament approved two economic cooperation agreements with Israel during a session on 21 October 2022, the Justice and Development Party’s parliamentary bloc voted against both. The first agreement concerns economic and commercial cooperation between Morocco and Israel signed in Rabat on 21 February 2022, and the second relates to the second draft law on air services between Rabat and Tel Aviv signed on 11 August 2021. The agreements received the approval of 167 deputies, while 15 voted against. The government had passed the agreements to parliament last July, where they received the approval of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, National Defense, and Islamic Affairs on November 9.

By developing economic and trade cooperation agreements with the Israeli, the Moroccan government seeks to achieve a set of fundamentally economics objectives including:

Increased trade between Morocco and Israel: Morocco seeks to normalize relations with Israel in order to reap economic gains from increased trade. The ratification by parliament of the trade cooperation agreement signed between the two countries last February is likely to increase Morocco’s exports to Israel, which already rose to about $117 million in 2021, from only $20 million in 2020.

 Israel’s exports to Morocco in 2021 amounted to about $31 million, rising from about $ 15 million in 2020. During last July alone, bilateral trade between the two countries came to about $ 4 .7 million, increasing by 213% from  July 2021, according to statistics from the Abraham Peace Agreements Institute. The Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Orna Barbevai noted that her country was seeking to increase the volume of trade with Morocco to about $500 million a year in 2023.

Enhancing the quality of Morocco’s exports: the agreements will allow Morocco to diversify its exports to Israel, which in recent times have been limited to textiles and some industrial products.  Morocco will now be able to export a wider range of industrial and technological products, since it has succeeded  in developing new products in the realms of technology, medicine, and renewable energies. Morocco’s productivity and competitiveness has risen, despite current global political and economic challenges. Moreover, these agreements will open new markets to Israeli companies, not only in Morocco, but also in Africa, in view of Morocco’s strong ties to African countries. 

Attracting Israeli investments to the Moroccan economy: Israeli companies and businessmen are expected to inject more capital in Morocco’s various economic sectors, particularly the agriculture sector in which Israel has considerable experience, as well as in tourism where Morocco is counting on receiving 500,000 Israeli tourists. The agreements give Israeli investors preferential treatment, such as administrative facilities, preferential taxation and the facilitation of property ownership.

Last March, Tel Aviv received a delegation of Moroccan businessmen including 80 heads of leading companies from the automotive industry, aviation, food and beverages, and chemicals amongst others. Rabat expects to attract $500 million in Israeli investments, in agriculture, technology, water, pharmaceuticals, tourism, electronics and financial services.

Implications of Justice and Development vote

The voting behavior of the Justice and Development bloc suggests several important political implications, most notably:

Discontent over normalizing relations with Israel: By refusing to vote in favor of the agreements, the party expressed its commitment to defend the Palestinian cause against continued violations by Israeli occupying forces. The party expressed its opposition to full normalization of relations with Israel, in view of continued transgressions towards the Palestinians. Rabat had in fact announced that normalization with Israel would not be at the expense of its support for the Palestinian cause, nor the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a number of statements condemning violations by Israeli forces against the Palestinian people in Jerusalem and the previous incursion into the Al Aqsa Mosque. However, the AKP believes that such support will not be forthcoming as normalization of relations with Israel progresses.

 Policy contradictions: The Justice and Development parliamentary bloc’s vote against economic and trade cooperation agreements with Israel reflects the party’s contradicting positions and policies. Saad el-Din al-Osmani, former Secretary General of the party signed the agreement to resume relations with Israel in December 2021 while he was head of government at the time, therefore, the party’s parliamentary group vote against the new agreements contradict its  policies while it was in power. 

Party members have argued that when al-Osmani signed these conventions, he was representing the State, and was bound by its foreign policy, but out of power, the party is no longer obligated to adhere to this foreign policy orientation. The current Secretary-General of the party, Benkiran, defended al-Osmani’s signing of the December 2020 agreement, arguing at the time that the AKP was part of the governance structure of the state, and cannot refuse to sign. 

Internal party conflict: There are two points of view within the party concerning the agreements with Israel. The first point of view argues that voting against the two agreements would avoid a revival of the controversy which surrounded former Secretary-General Saaduddin Al-Osmani, who was sharply criticized by party members for signing the normalization agreement with Israel when he was prime minister.

The second point of view argues that the parliamentary bloc’s vote reveals a state of confusion within the party, that has prevailed since its failure in the last parliamentary elections, and the impact that had on the political standing of the party in Moroccan politics. This state of confusion was exacerbated by escalating disagreements between  the wing led by Saad el-Din al-Osmani on the one hand, and that led by AbduIlah Benkiran – the current secretary-general of the party – on the other, and the latter’s attempts to reorganize the party.

Possible alliances between Justice and Development Parliamentary Bloc and the Left: Opposition in parliament to the agreements with Israel was not limited to the Justice and Development parliamentary bloc. MP Nabila Munib, Secretary-General of the United Socialist Party (USP), and Fatima Al-Tamani, a representative of the Left Federation, also voted against them. This suggests that  the Justice and Development Party may seek to form a political alliance with leftist members of parliament, in an effort to strengthen political opposition, and perhaps succeed in strengthening its own political standing. 

Appealing to public opinion opposed to normalization with Israel:  There remains wide sectors in Moroccan society opposed to the normalization of relations with Israel. There have been sporadic demonstrations expressing popular opposition to accelerating steps towards normalization. Additionally, several civil society organizations have opposed normalization, including some labor unions. In this context, the Justice and Development Party is attempting to reconnect with the Moroccan street through this issue.

In sum, while the vote by the Justice and Development Party could not obstruct the passing of the economic and trade cooperation agreements with Israel, it may allow the party to strengthen its position, and raise its political profile by connecting to popular discontent with growing normalization of relations.