For the first time, the Israel Defense Forces took part in a major US-led military exercise held in Morocco and nearby African countries that ended on Thursday as observers.
The US Africa Command said its annual joint exercise with Morocco – dubbed African Lion – involved about 7,500 troops and was held between June 6 and 30 in Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia. (The latter of which has no diplomatic ties to Israel whatsoever.)
The host countries were joined by troops from Brazil, Chad, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, AFRICOM said.
The exercise included several live-fire exercises, naval and air exercises, a “chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response exercise” and other “humanitarian civil assistance” exercises, according to AFRICOM.
Israel sent two IDF officers and the head of the defense ministry’s Middle East and North Africa division in the political and military-political bureau, who also serves as the defense attaché in Morocco.
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“Israel’s participation in the exercise is a further step in strengthening security relations between the defense ministries and armies of the two countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
Soldiers jump from an aircraft during the African Lion 2022 exercise in Morocco, June 2022. (Christopher Hull via Department of Defense)
Morocco normalized ties with the Jewish state in December 2020, shortly after similar agreements with the UAE and Bahrain.
for the first time pic.twitter.com/gM0Mv6Kp4F
— Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (@MoroccanArmed) July 1, 2022
In March, senior Israeli military officials completed their first official visit to Morocco, where the two countries signed an agreement aimed at co-operating between the two militaries.
“Possibilities for military cooperation were discussed, both in training and in the operational and intelligence areas,” the IDF said at the time.
Several high-ranking Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Benny Gantz, also visited Morocco and signed cooperation agreements, including in technology, security, military and trade. Last week, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked visited the African country.
Morocco cut ties with Israel in 2000 after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, but restored ties 20 years later in a deal that saw Washington recognize Rabat’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara.
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