Israeli occupation forces and representatives of the Israeli Security Ministry took part in military exercises in Morocco for the first time, according to the Ministry's press department.

The African Lion yearly military drill took place throughout last month. The drill was attended by military troops from ten different countries.

Officials from the Israeli Security Ministry and occupation forces "participated in an international military exercise in Morocco for the first time this past week: ‘African Lion 2022’, led by AFRICOM [US Africa Command] and the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces," the Israeli Security Ministry said on social media on Saturday.

According to the Ministry, the African Lion drill was attended by the head of the Policy and Political-Military Bureau's Middle East and North Africa division, who also serves as the security attache to Morocco, as well as two Israeli occupation officers.

The Security Ministry stated that "Israel's" involvement in the drill in Morocco was intended to boost bilateral security relations.

Mutual desires

In March, an Israeli occupation military delegation met with Moroccan officers in Rabat in the first visit of its kind since the 2020 normalization deal, and the two signed a security cooperation agreement.

"A meeting took place at General Staff headquarters to develop cooperation" between  Morocco and "Israel", a Moroccan Royal Armed Forces source told AFP.

During the visit, the two signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation and setting up a joint commission, the Israeli occupation army said in a statement, without adding details.

The statement mentioned that "the heads of the occupation army's strategic planning and cooperation directorate and its international cooperation division were present, along with its intelligence section's operations division chief."

Read next: Moroccan National Front: Israeli Entity Sees Morocco a Gateway to Its Greedy Ambitions

Normalization with "Israel" 

Morocco and "Israel" formally signed a normalization deal a year ago. Following that, relations grew in all aspects, from the exchange of ambassadors to tourism and flights, exports and business contacts, high-level ministerial visits, and security cooperation.

However, 36 Moroccan cities witnessed protests against normalization with “Israel” and in solidarity with Palestine.

These protests came in response to the call of the Moroccan National Front to Support Palestine and Oppose Normalization’s to reject normalization.

Protesters were suppressed by the security forces, which resulted in injuries within the ranks of protesters, among which are elders.