Morocco, Israel establish diplomatic ties, fourth Middle East deal brokered by Trump White House

Senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner on Thursday announced Morocco and Israel will establish diplomatic ties, the fourth Middle East deal brokered by the Trump White House in the last four months.

As part of this deal Morocco will establish full diplomatic relations and resume official contacts with Israel, and Morocco will grant overflights and direct flights to and from Israel for all Israelis, Kushner told reporters Thursday.  

Morocco will also reopen the liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv immediately with the intention to open the embassies in the near future, Kushner said, and they will also be promoting economic cooperation between Israeli American companies.

"This is really a great day for peace, a great day for Morocco, a great day for for America, a great day for Israel, and a great day for the world," Kushner said, telling reporters the deal came through by building a relationship with Mohammed VI, the king of Morocco. "We've been in contact with him and his team constantly over the last couple of years working through the different issues." 

The White House told reporters that President Trump spoke with the king on Thursday, issuing a statement that "The US -Morocco friendship is rooted in our shared belief in the promise of peace, stability, and economic opportunity and has endured since Morocco became the first country to recognize the United States in 1777."

Trump also on Thursday issued a proclamation recognizing the United States' support for Morocco's autonomy over the Western Sahara territory, stating "Therefore, as of today, the United States recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory and reaffirms its support for Morocco's serious, credible, and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute over the Western Sahara territory. The United States believes that an independent Sahrawi State is not a realistic option for resolving the conflict and that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution."  

Thursday's announcement with Morocco follows three other peace deals announced this year with United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan serving as the first Arab nations to normalize relations with Israel in over 25 years. Kushner and other Trump officials played a pivotal role in brokering those deals. 

"Now we have peace sprouting in the Middle East, President Trump took a contrarian approach one that was different than, not just Democrat but also Republican administrations, just a different approach than the experts had been taking in the region, and the fruits of these efforts have been become very apparent," Kushner said. "But we also believe that there is a lot more fruits to come in the short, medium and long term."