Morocco: Ex-Prime Minister Criticizes Israeli-bound Ships and Calls on King to Intervene

Benkirane, speaking during an opening address at the regular meeting of his party’s General Secretariat, appealed to King Mohammed VI: “Considering his noble lineage, his role as President of the Al-Quds Committee, and as Commander of the Faithful, to once again take action, as is his custom, to stop the killing and genocide taking place,” according to his statement.

On Sunday, Morocco saw hundreds of people take part in protest marches in both Tangier and Casablanca, rejecting the docking of a foreign ship in Tangier’s port, suspected of carrying weapons and military equipment headed for Israel. Participants in the marches in both cities chanted slogans demanding the prohibition of the ship’s docking at Moroccan ports. However, Moroccan media reports denied that the Norwegian-owned ship, operating in the “Tangier Med” port, was carrying any weapons heading to Israel.

The international shipping company Maersk also denied the claims in a statement, calling them “baseless” and confirming that the ship’s cargo did not include weapons or ammunition destined for Israel. The company emphasized that all of its operations comply with international laws and follow responsible business practices, including the United Nations Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines.

Additionally, the Moroccan Coalition of Human Rights Organizations stated that the action represented a “serious violation” of Morocco’s obligations under the Geneva Conventions, particularly the Fourth Convention on the protection of civilians during wartime. The coalition described it as “participation in war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity” committed against civilians, especially children, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

The coalition, consisting of 20 human rights organizations, warned that allowing such ships to pass through Moroccan ports is a “clear violation” of international humanitarian law and called for the government to stop its contradictory stance between its rhetoric and actions. They also urged Morocco to take responsibility and respond to the demands of the Moroccan people to halt the normalization process with Israel.

The “Moroccan Front for Supporting Palestine and Opposing Normalization” sent a letter to the Moroccan Minister of Transport and the director of the Tangier Med Port Authority, rejecting any facilitation of military equipment transportation that feeds the Israeli “genocidal machine” through Moroccan ports. The front specifically demanded an investigation into the contents of the container aboard the Maersk ship, based on customs documents and mandatory declarations made by the ship.

Popular protests and confrontations between protesters and security authorities over suspicions that Moroccan ports might be opened to military shipments headed to the Israeli army have divided Moroccan public opinion. Some view the protesters as “defenders of a just humanitarian cause,” while others label them as “traitors” serving “foreign agendas.”

This situation prompted Moroccan political analyst Hafid Zahiri to comment that parties such as “Al-Adl wal-Ihsan” and “Justice and Development” are exploiting the situation in Gaza, along with Moroccan public sympathy, as a way to return to the political scene and exert pressure on the state. Zahiri argued that this is a result of a political vacuum and parties’ withdrawal from guiding the street.

Zahiri further expressed on his official social media: “After dominating the coordination committees, they are now exploiting Gaza to weaken the state for the benefit of their foreign benefactors—whether consciously or unconsciously.” He added that some countries often use these tactics to undermine Morocco’s regional power whenever its international standing rises.

Political science professor Omar El-Charkawi from Hassan II University stated that while Moroccans historically and politically understand organizing protests in public spaces as a form of expressing a position, turning the protest into a march and sit-in at the Tangier Med Port, one of the world’s largest and Morocco’s economic strength, over the issue of Palestine is a development with “unfriendly goals and messages.” He emphasized that such protests based on rumors and fake news, or even true reports, cannot justify undermining Morocco’s international trade obligations, as these are governed by international shipping laws.

Attorney and member of the Justice and Development Party’s General Secretariat, Asmaa Maâtaïni, argued that it was “natural” for Moroccans to protest at the port over reports of a ship providing military equipment to Israel amid ongoing atrocities in Gaza. She condemned accusations that the protesters were serving foreign agendas, stating that “those who love their country are those who express their real concerns about what harms their true interests.”