Hamas Condemns Visit of Israeli Foreign Minister to Morocco

Tel Aviv [Israel] August 12 (ANI/Sputnik): The Hamas movement controlling Palestine’s Gaza Strip said on Thursday that the visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to Morocco was harmful to the Palestinian people.

Lapid arrived in Morocco for a two-day visit on Wednesday. On Thursday, he attended the opening ceremony of an Israeli liaison office in the Moroccan capital of Rabat together with Morocco’s deputy foreign minister, Mohcine Jazouli, among other officials.

“The visit of the Israeli foreign minister to Morocco will have serious negative consequences for the Palestinian people and its just cause. It is also an excuse for the occupier authorities who commit crimes against the Palestinian people and their holy places,” Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum was quoted as saying in a statement.

He urged all Arab and Muslim countries to continue boycotting Israel, branding the Jewish state as a “threat to Palestine and the region as a whole.”

On Wednesday, Lapid on Israel’s behalf signed three agreements with Morocco on bilateral cooperation in culture, aviation, and political consultations. He also handed over to his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita a letter from Israeli President Isaac Herzog inviting King Mohammed VI of Morocco to visit Israel.

Last September, Israel and Morocco signed an agreement on the normalization of diplomatic relations, which were severed in 2000 after the Second Intifada. Morocco was the fourth Arab country after Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates to restore ties with Israel under US-brokered deals. All four were harshly criticized by the Palestinian authorities. (ANI/Sputnik)