King of Morocco reiterates openness to mend ties with Algeria

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King Mohammed VI of Morocco reiterated during his throne accession anniversary speech on Sunday that his kingdom was open to restoring ties with Algeria after a year-long diplomatic discord.

"We aspire to work with the Algerian presidency so that Morocco and Algeria can work hand in hand to establish normal relations between two brotherly peoples," Mohammed said in his address. "I stress once again that the borders that separate the Moroccan and Algerian brothers will never be barriers preventing their interaction and understanding."  

The King further prompted Moroccans to "preserve the spirit of fraternity, solidarity and good neighborliness towards our Algerian brothers".    

Diplomatic Spat

Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra announced on August 24, 2021, that his country severed diplomatic ties with Morocco.

On August 25, 2021, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry issued a statement that read: "Morocco has taken note of the unilateral decision of the Algerian authorities to sever diplomatic relations with Morocco starting this day," rejecting the pretexts underlying Algeria's decision.

On November 25, 2021, Senate President Salah Goudjil, a top Algerian official, said that the Israeli security minister's visit to Morocco "targets Algeria" after a week of back-and-forths over the western Sahara territorial dispute. 

"The enemies are mobilizing more and more to undermine Algeria" which is "targeted" by the visit, said Goudjil.

A day earlier, the Moroccan National Front contended that "Israel" saw Morocco as a gateway to its greedy ambitions.

Abdul Samad Fathi, the deputy coordinator of the Moroccan National Front to Support Palestine and Oppose Normalization, said the Israeli occupation regards Morocco as the gateway to its greedy ambitions in the Maghreb region and the rest of Africa, and it wants it to wage war on its behalf in the area.

Fathi also stressed that military normalization is a risk to the independence of the country and the stability of the region, as it is a stab in the back of the Palestinian people and the Moroccan army that the Zionist army literally burned in the October 1973 war after its warplanes targeted them with burning arrows, so their bodies arrived at hospitals all charred.