The first Israel-Morocco direct commercial flight landed in the North African kingdom Tuesday to mark the latest U.S.-brokered diplomatic normalization deal between the Jewish state and an Arab country. Morocco has North Africa's largest Jewish community of about 3,000 people, and Israel is home to 700,000 Jews of Moroccan origin. Morocco closed its liaison office in Tel Aviv in 2000, at the start of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. But the Palestinians -- like the Polisario -- have cried foul and condemned the normalization announcement between Rabat and the Jewish state. Under the rule of King Mohammed, several programs have been launched to rehabilitate old Jewish districts, cemeteries and synagogues.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 22, 2020 16:18 UTC