Name? King Mohammed VI.
Westphalian identity? Moroccan
Age? 57
Why is he in the news? One hour after we published yesterday’s daily about Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic normalisation strategy, Israel and Morocco announced their normalisation of relations. However, Mohammed VI. assured the Palestinians that his stance on Palestine remained unchanged.
Why do we care? On his way out of office, Trump is in a unique position where he does not need to care about public opinion. Not that he usually does but even more so now. Normal presidents pardon people and award medals in their last few months in office. Meanwhile, the Donald is creating hard facts, like recognising the disputed territory Western Sahara as a sovereign part of Morocco.
Why should you care? You are currently witnessing a diplomatic dynamic never seen before in the Middle East. These changes reflect the particular position each individual leader is in and therefore, reflects their decision making.
Who else cares? The Polisario Front. For Mohammed VI., this was an easy deal: Normalising relations with Israel in exchange for the United States recognising Western Sahara as Moroccan territory. For the Polisario Front on the other hand, this is a huge blow to the efforts of the Sahrawi to hold a referendum about their succession from Morocco and establishing their own state.
Any further comments? Trump is driven by his last few weeks in office, Mohammed VI. is driven by the territorial integrity of his state and Netanyahu? His half of the term as Prime Minister is soon to be over and Benny Gantz is supposed to step into office for the second half. After that, Netanyahu is facing charges over a corruption trial which he can only avoid as Prime Minister. The signs for another early election in Israel intensify, an election which will be a lot easier to win for BB with a wave of diplomatic normalisation between Israel and Sunni Arab countries.