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Morocco Welcomes Israel's Defense Minister
(Al-Monitor) Ben Caspit - The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces welcomed Israeli Defense Minister Lt.-Gen. (res.) Benny Gantz last week with great honor. He was the first Israeli defense minister to ever publicly sign a defense cooperation agreement with an Arab Muslim state, though several Arab and Muslim states have maintained security ties over the years in secret. The Moroccans have apparently realized that ties with Jerusalem are key to preserving U.S. recognition of their sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara. Gantz was accorded a welcome fit for heads of state. His photo graced the front pages of most local newspapers, magazines and websites; he penned an op-ed for the French-language magazine L'Observateur Du Maroc and the Arabic newspaper Al Ahdath Al Maghribia. He was received with full military honors. Gantz arrived at the head of a large contingent of uniformed officers, as well as intelligence officials and experts. The MOU he signed launches a series of security and intelligence cooperation projects and a race by Israel's defense industries for lucrative contracts. The Moroccans told Gantz they planned to buy Israeli-developed weapons worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The Moroccans desperately need intelligence information, unmanned aerial vehicles and air defense systems.