ISRAEL AND MOROCCO

Morocco is one of several Arab states in which relations were woven with the State of Israel, both covertly and in recent years openly. Initially those ties were mostly in the realm of intelligence and military matters, laying the groundwork for mutually beneficial modes of cooperation forged in the days of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the withering of European colonialism. Eventually ties were diversified to include economic and commercial ventures. Israel sought to offset the challenges posed by the Arab embargo, and hoped to align itself with different Arab state actors and ethnic groups, such as the Iraqi Kurds and other large non-Arab minorities, that were reluctant to become subservient to Middle Eastern Arab Unity ventures promoted by Egyptian Nasserism, or to the growing Soviet influence during the Cold War. Morocco stands out as an example of an Arab League state that transitioned its way from initial covert channels with Israel to a more overt partnership.