The announcement that emerged from New York on September 16 required few diplomatic flourishes to show that Morocco-Israel relations were entering a different phase. Morocco and Israel agreed, in the presence of the United States, to upgrade their diplomatic representation to embassy level and appoint ambassadors, while expanding air links and working toward new economic and investment agreements. The meeting brought together Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa\u2019ar, under the auspices of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz.<\/p>\n
But the wording of the announced agreement does not mean that every issue surrounding the relationship over the past several years was settled in that meeting. The public document mainly shows the three countries reconnecting with the framework established by the Morocco-U.S.-Israel declaration of December 22, 2020, while Rabat and Tel Aviv agreed to move to the embassy stage, resume direct flights and strengthen economic and trade relations, including work on agreements covering investment protection and the avoidance of double taxation.<\/p>\n
That detail matters because the New York meeting does not appear to be an isolated episode in the recent history of the relationship. In December 2020, Morocco, the United States and Israel announced the establishment of full, peaceful and friendly diplomatic relations, the reopening of liaison offices, the launch of air links and cooperation in trade, investment, technology, energy and other fields. That process was accompanied by Washington\u2019s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump left the White House only weeks later. The U.S. recognition remained in place under the Joe Biden administration, but several elements of the process did not reach the level that Rabat had been seeking. Full embassies remained pending, as did the issue of a U.S. consulate in Dakhla, announced in the 2020 declaration but never completed in the form originally envisaged.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s return to the presidency brought the American factor back to the center of the sequence. On August 1, 2026, Morocco\u2019s Royal Cabinet released a letter from the U.S. president to King Mohammed VI reaffirming the American position on Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara and its support for the autonomy initiative as the basis for a just and lasting solution.<\/p>\n
Between the 2020 declaration and that August 2026 letter, the United Nations framework within which Rabat has pursued the issue had also changed.<\/p>\n
Security Council Resolution 2797, adopted on October 31, 2025, did not settle the status of the Sahara. It did, however, introduce an important shift in the language surrounding negotiations. The resolution called on the parties to engage in negotiations without preconditions, on the basis of Morocco\u2019s autonomy proposal, with the aim of reaching a final and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for self-determination for the people of Western Sahara. It also stated that genuine autonomy could represent one of the most feasible outcomes and extended the mandate of MINURSO until October 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
That wording gives the coming October deadline a significance beyond the routine renewal of the UN mission\u2019s mandate. The previous resolution placed Morocco\u2019s autonomy proposal at the basis of the negotiations, but it continued to frame the final settlement as dependent on an agreement among the parties and on the principle of self-determination contained in the resolution. The passage from Resolution 2797 to a new resolution will therefore depend not only on the American position but also on negotiations among Security Council members.<\/p>\n
The diplomatic sources cited in the original report go further. They say that contacts preceding the New York meeting were not confined to the diplomatic file and that Washington had been present at key stages of discussions between Rabat and Tel Aviv. According to these sources, the talks covered economics, investment and technology, as well as military cooperation and defense-related industries.<\/p>\n
The same sources add that Bourita held extensive discussions with Sa\u2019ar in the presence of Morocco\u2019s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, and that the talks extended to defense arrangements, new contracts and military-industrial projects inside Morocco based on Israeli technology and expertise.<\/p>\n
This particular point requires a clear distinction between what was officially announced and what remains attributed to diplomatic sources. The public announcement from the New York meeting emphasized stronger diplomatic, economic and trade relations and air links. It did not publish details of new defense contracts or specific military-industrial projects. Those elements therefore remain, at this stage, part of the information attributed to the sources cited in the report.<\/p>\n
Defense cooperation between the two countries, however, predates the New York meeting by several years. Morocco and Israel signed a defense memorandum of understanding in 2021 establishing a framework for military cooperation. Developments followed in areas including training, intelligence and defense industry, with agreements and acquisitions emerging over the following years.<\/p>\n
What the sources attribute to the current negotiations, if later confirmed through agreements or official announcements, would therefore represent an evolution in the nature of that cooperation rather than its beginning. The direction would be from the acquisition of systems and equipment toward local production, technology transfer and the development of a domestic industrial base connected to defense.<\/p>\n
The most sensitive file, however, lies beyond the bilateral relationship itself.<\/p>\n
The diplomatic sources cited in the report say Rabat expects Washington to play an important role in shaping the next Security Council resolution and wants Morocco\u2019s autonomy proposal to be given a stronger position as the basis for negotiations. But no final U.S. draft for that future resolution is publicly available at this stage to establish that such language has already been settled.<\/p>\n
What can be established is that Washington reaffirmed in August its recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara and its support for the autonomy initiative, while the Security Council had already placed Morocco\u2019s proposal at the basis of negotiations in its previous resolution. What will emerge in October will depend on discussions inside the Council, the positions of its members and developments in the political process.<\/p>\n
Even the embassy announcement carries an indication of the nature of the new phase. Rabat and Tel Aviv are no longer speaking only about maintaining a relationship, but about strengthening its institutions: embassies, ambassadors, direct flights, investment agreements and expanded trade. The Israeli government has also announced high-level reciprocal visits in the coming months.<\/p>\n
\n\u05de\u05d1\u05e8\u05da \u05d0\u05ea \u05e9\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d7\u05d5\u05e5 \u05d2\u05d3\u05e2\u05d5\u05df \u05e1\u05e2\u05e8 @gidonsaar<\/a>, \u05e9\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d7\u05d5\u05e5 \u05d4\u05de\u05e8\u05d5\u05e7\u05d0\u05d9, \u05e0\u05d0\u05e1\u05e8 \u05d1\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05d8\u05d4 @Marocdiplo_EN<\/a> \u05d5\u05e9\u05d2\u05e8\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d0\u05e8\u05d4\u05f4\u05d1 \u05dc\u05d0\u05d5\u05f4\u05dd, \u05de\u05d9\u05d9\u05e7 \u05d5\u05d5\u05dc\u05e5 @michaelgwaltz<\/a>, \u05e2\u05dc \u05d4\u05de\u05d4\u05dc\u05da \u05d4\u05d7\u05e9\u05d5\u05d1 \u05dc\u05d4\u05e2\u05de\u05e7\u05ea \u05d4\u05d9\u05d7\u05e1\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05d3\u05d9\u05e4\u05dc\u05d5\u05de\u05d8\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05d9\u05df \u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc \u05dc\u05de\u05e8\u05d5\u05e7\u05d5.<\/p>\n
\u05d4\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5\u05e2 \u05e6\u05d9\u05d9\u05e0\u05d5 \u05d9\u05d7\u05d3 \u05e2\u05dd \u05e9\u05d2\u05e8\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05d0\u05e8\u05d4\u05f4\u05d1, \u05d0\u05d9\u05d7\u05d5\u05d3 \u05d4\u05d0\u05de\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05d9\u05d5\u05ea, \u05d1\u05d7\u05e8\u05d9\u05d9\u05df, \u05de\u05e8\u05d5\u05e7\u05d5 \u05d5\u05e7\u05d6\u05d7\u05e1\u05d8\u05df \u05e9\u05e9 \u05e9\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd \u05dc\u05d4\u05e1\u05db\u05de\u05d9\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/OGajxSFD9D<\/a><\/p>\n
— Danny Danon \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1 \u05d3\u05e0\u05d9 \u05d3\u05e0\u05d5\u05df (@dannydanon) September 17, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n