Israel avoids recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara

Israel doesn’t still recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, despite Morocco’s numerous offers in various sectors such as agriculture, trade and politics.
Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana visited Morocco last Thursday, and his visit was preceded by a media campaign in newspapers advocating political normalization with Israel in order for the latter to formally recognize Morocco‘s sovereignty over the Sahara.
Speaking at a press conference in the Moroccan parliament, Amir Ohana declared that he considers the Sahara to be Moroccan, and appealed to the Israeli government to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the territory.
Ohana‘s visit is the first by an Israeli parliamentary speaker to a Muslim country. However, it was not accompanied by any official recognition of the Moroccan Sahara by his government. This raises questions about Israel’s real position on the Sahara.
The statement by the President of the Israeli Knesset shocked part of Moroccan public opinion for two reasons: firstly, Israel is obtaining concessions from Morocco without committing itself to recognizing Morocco‘s sovereignty over the Sahara. Secondly, in his speech of August 20, 2022, King Mohammed VI sent a clear message to Israel to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, but failed to do so. In other words, Israel is “selling sweet words” to Morocco without taking an explicit and clear position.
To appease the Moroccans, Israel sometimes lets it be known that it is studying the issue and will take a position, as Reuters reported a few days ago.
Israel‘s only official statement on the Sahara conflict, and its recognition or otherwise, is that of its former diplomatic representative in Rabat, David Govrin, who told the “EFE” news agency on October 23, 2021: “Israel is a democratic state that supports any peaceful resolution of the conflict, Israel, in principle, supports direct negotiations between the parties involved in the conflict. The most important thing is to find a peaceful political solution to all conflicts.“