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Expected to visit Morocco on Thursday, December 5, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will reportedly meet, Wednesday in Portugal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before flying to the Kingdom.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Pompeo and Netanyahu’s meeting will focus on Israel’s wish to normalize ties in the Arab World.
«Pompeo will head to Lisbon on Wednesday and hold talks with Netanyahu, a day before flying to Morocco which has a growing, if quiet, relationship with Israel», wrote the news agency, recalling that this meeting was confirmed, Tuesday, by the Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus.
Last week, a US Department of State official told AFP that Pompeo’s upcoming visit to the Kingdom is expected to discuss «normalizing relations with Israel».
The US State Department has previously announced that Mike Pompeo would meet in Rabat with King Mohammed VI, who cooperates closely with the United States.
«Morocco plays a great role across the region as an important partner in promoting tolerance (and) has these quiet ties and relationship with Israel as well», a State Department official told AFP.
For the record, Morocco first established diplomatic ties with Israel in 1993, following the signing of the Oslo agreement between the Jewish state and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
But with the start of the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000, Morocco decided to cut ties with the Jewish state. Three years later, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom visited Rabat and met with King Mohammed VI in Tetouan.
