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Morocco-Israel trade reaches $53.2m in first half of 2024 amid war on Gaza

Trade between Morocco and Israel increased by 64% during the first five months of 2024, even as tensions remained high following the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023.

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Trade between Morocco and Israel has not been affected by the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since last October. In May 2024, trade between Rabat and Tel Aviv reached $8.5 million, according to the June Abraham Accords Report compiled by the Abraham Accords Peace Institute, a US non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the implementation and expansion of the accords.

This number constitutes a 124% increase in trade between Morocco and Israel when compared to May 2023. Based on numbers shared by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the report indicates that during the first five months of 2024, the amount of bilateral trade between Israel and Morocco was $53.2 million, constituting a 64% increase in trade from the first five months of 2023.

The increase in trade with Israel during the first five months of the year has not been limited to Morocco. Other Arab countries that signed the Abraham Accords have also seen their trade with Israel grow in numbers during the first five months of the current year, despite the «geopolitical tensions and ongoing war», the report indicated.

Trade with Israel and Abraham Accords countries holds steady despite ongoing war

The United Arab Emirates tops the list of these countries, with a total amount of bilateral trade with Israel that reached $284.4 million in May 2024. For the first five months of 2024, trade between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv was $1.39 billion, constituting an 8% increase in trade from the first five months of 2023.

Then comes Bahrain, which during the first five months of 2024, conducted $53.7 million in trade with Israel, constituting a 933% increase in trade from the first five months of 2023.

The list also includes Egypt, another Abraham Accord signatory, which had bilateral trade with Israel estimated at $66.4 million in May 2024, constituting a 166% increase in trade from May 2023. For the first five months of 2024, bilateral trade between Cairo and Tel Aviv was $212.6 million, constituting a 59% increase in trade from the first five months of 2023.

Trade between Israel and Jordan reached $43.7 million in 2024, constituting a 1% increase in trade from May 2023. For the first five months of 2024, bilateral trade was $178.8 million, constituting a 17% decrease in trade from the first five months of 2023.

Despite the decrease in tourism and people-to-people activity, according to the report, «diplomatic and strategic ties between the Accords countries remain in place, and trade is on the rise», as witnessed by the numbers.

For the record, since Israel's war on Gaza last October, Israeli-Moroccan relations, which resumed in December 2020, have been strained. The kingdom has become more critical of Israel in various international and regional forums.

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