Morocco delays Negev Summit with Abraham Accords signatories

Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita denounces acts of violence by Israel against Palestinians

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita. EPA

Morocco has said it will postpone holding a summit for the signatories of the Abraham Accords this summer, citing scheduling as well as political issues.

“The political context might not allow this summit to bring about the expected outcomes,” Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said in a televised press conference.

He said Morocco denounces the latest Israeli attack on Jenin, where six Palestinians were killed and 91 injured.

“Morocco expresses its solidarity with the Palestinian people and rejects the Israeli government decision of expanding settlements in the West Bank,” he said.

Mr Bourita also denounced “acts by radicals on both sides”, but especially the Israeli side, he said.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Israeli settlers burnt cars and at least 10 houses in the West Bank village of Turmusaya, near Ramallah, killing one Palestinian.

Mr Bourita said Morocco views the second year of the summit as having the potential to create a “framework of positive dialogue”.

The first summit was held in Negev, southern Israel, last year.

A spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry told AFP they had “no response” to Rabat's decision.

Morocco is one of four Arab states, alongside the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, that moved closer to Israel in 2020 as part of a US-driven diplomatic initiative.