Israel recognises Moroccan sovereignty over Saharan provinces

Israel has recognized Rabat's sovereignty over the disputed Saharan provinces, which the separatist movement Polisario Front claims as its territory, both Israel and Morocco announced on July 17.

A statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said the country was considering opening a consulate in Sahara's Dakhla, DW reports.

Morocco's royal palace had earlier announced the decision, saying it was expressed in a letter from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Moroccan King Mohammed VI.

The Israeli position "will be sent to the United Nations, regional and international organizations," the statement quoted the letter as saying.

The Saharan provinces is a stretch of land south of Morocco, mostly bordering Mauritania, with a small part sharing the Algerian border.

Since the Spanish colonization of the region ended in 1975, Morocco liberated Western Sahara, sparking a 15-year conflict with the separatist Polisario Front movement, which is supported by Algeria.

The conflict came to a halt with a 1991 cease-fire agreement brokered by the United Nations. However, the Polisario Front renewed the conflict in 2020, declaring the entire Saharan provinces a "war zone."

A year later, Algiers severed diplomatic ties with its western neighbour, amid mounting tensions.

Diplomatic ties between Israel and Morocco were only established in 2020, as other Arab countries changed their decades-long stance on Israel and established relations with it.

Then US President Donald Trump announced Washington's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Saharan provinces as a result.

Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen said recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the region would "strengthen the relations between the countries and between the peoples and the continuation of cooperation to deepen regional peace and stability."