The Israeli navy ship INS Komemiyut made a stopover at Tangier Med on June 6 and 7 to replenish fuel and food, Israeli business newspaper Globes reported this week. The Vessel Finder site confirmed the information, stressing that the presence of the warship, 90 meters long, was reported at the Tangier Med 1 terminal after leaving the Pascagoula shipyards in the United States.
The stopover of this Israeli ship in the port of Tanger Med sparked angry reactions from Moroccans. In a statement, the Moroccan Front in Support of Palestine and Against Normalization with Israel denounced the “complicity” of the Moroccan authorities, accusing them of not having “followed the example of Spain” which refused in May he stopover in Cartagena of the Danish cargo ship Marianne Danica transporting 27 tons of explosives from Madras (India) to Haifa.
Read: Two years later, Moroccans are still up in arms against Morocco-Israel normalization
Many Moroccans are against the normalization of relations with Israel. According to data published in June 2024 by the Arab Barometer, the number of Moroccans supporting this normalization has fallen considerably, from 31% in 2022 to 13% this year. “While certain key aspects of relations between Israel and Morocco have not been affected by the war in Gaza (bilateral trade and military cooperation), other important areas have been undermined, notably diplomatic relations, official visits and tourism,” says a report from the Israeli National Institute for Security Studies, published June 17.
“Israel would do well to remember that Morocco’s support for the Palestinians can go beyond words,” the study underlines. The two countries normalized relations in December 2020 under the Abraham Accords, led by the United States under Trump. Since then, Rabat and Tel Aviv have strengthened their military cooperation. In 2023, Israel became Morocco’s third largest arms supplier, behind the United States and France, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
