Moroccan senate president delays historic trip to Israel due to illness and says he will return
Morocco’s senate president has postponed a historic visit to Israel due to health reasons
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Morocco's senate president has postponed a historic visit to Israel due to a medical emergency, the Israeli parliament announced Wednesday.
The announcement came just a day before Enaam Mayara was scheduled to visit Israel's Knesset, or parliament, on a trip aimed at cementing the fledgling ties between the two countries.
Mayara was to be the first Moroccan official and one of the few Muslim leaders ever to set foot in the Knesset. The parliament had planned to greet him with a red carpet and a ceremonial guard of honor.
Israel and Morocco fully normalized relations as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords, a series of diplomatic agreements between Israel and four Arab countries brokered by then-President Donald Trump.
The Knesset issued a statement late Wednesday saying that Mayara had been hospitalized during a stop in neighboring Jordan. He was forced to reschedule his Israel trip and call off a visit earlier in the day to the Palestinian government in the West Bank, the statement said.
“I am sorry that because of a medical emergency, I am unable to come to the Knesset,” the statement quoted Mayara as saying. It gave no details on the nature of his illness but said he would return to Morocco.
“The connection between the kingdom of Morocco and the state of Israel is a shared interest of the two countries, and together we will deepen it,” he added.
Israel's Knesset speaker Amir Ohana, who visited Morocco earlier this year, said Mayara's visit was supposed to be a highlight of the new relations. He said Israel wished Mayara “a speedy and full recovery.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed interest in expanding the Abraham Accords to bring in additional Arab and Muslim countries, most notably Saudi Arabia. But relations with Israel's Arab partners have cooled due to the treatment of Palestinians by Netanyahu's far-right government.
The government is dominated by ultranationalist politicians who oppose Palestinian independence and have promoted settlement construction in the occupied West Bank. Morocco delayed a summit of Israel and its Abraham Accord partners earlier this year due to the political climate.
Still, Israel's relations with Morocco appear strong.
Israel is home to a large community of Jews of Moroccan descent. Morocco and Israel have agreed to military cooperation and boosted trade. Earlier this year, Israel recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, joining the United States as the only two countries to acknowledge the kingdom’s annexation of the disputed north African territory.