Tens of thousands of Moroccans took to the streets of Rabat on Sunday for a massive national protest march in solidarity with Gaza and against normalization with Israel. The activists also held rallies in Tangier.
The Rabat demonstration, organised by the Moroccan Front in Support of Palestine and against normalisation, drew citizens and prominent political figures alike. It follows a series of nationwide actions, including the widely publicised vigil in Tangier on Saturday night, which also honoured the courage of Moroccan Microsoft engineer Ibtihel Abou Saad.
In Rabat, the participants waved Palestinian and Moroccan flags, wore keffiyehs and chanted powerful slogans like “The people demand an end to normalisation” and “Palestine is a legacy, normalisation is betrayal.” The diverse crowd—spanning all ages and backgrounds—delivered a unified message: halt Israeli violence, sever diplomatic ties and unconditionally support the Palestinian people.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, more than 50,700 people have been killed and 115,000 others injured by Israeli strikes since October 2023, including doctors and first responders. The protesters also decried the genocide and expressed outrage at the international community’s silence.
Several political leaders joined the march. Jamal El Assri of the Unified Socialist Party called it “a battle between life and Israel’s death machine.” Fathallah Arsalane of Al-Adl Wal Ihsane described it as “the voice of a living nation,” asserting that the bloodshed in Gaza is also Moroccan. Others emphasized that Palestine is not a
foreign issue, but a national one.
Tangier saw action on Saturday night as well. At the symbolic Souq Dakhel wall, dozens held a sit-in organized by the Moroccan Initiative for Support and Solidarity. At its core was Ibtihel Abou Saad’s protest. The engineer recently confronted a Microsoft executive on camera over the company’s role in supplying AI technology to the
Israeli military during its 50th-anniversary celebrations—an act that earned her global praise. In Tangier, she was hailed as “a free Moroccan voice against complicity in war crimes.”
Tangier activists voiced horror at Israel’s violence in Gaza and the failure of international intervention. They demanded an immediate end to the attacks, the lifting of the siege, and a complete break with Israel, stressing that solidarity with Palestine is deeply rooted and unshakable by political or economic pressures.
Data from ACLED and the UN show Morocco among the top countries protesting Israeli violence. An Arab Center poll revealed that 75% of Moroccans view Hamas’s 7 October attack as legitimate resistance, and
68% see Hamas as entirely distinct from the Islamic State.
The message from Rabat and Tangier was clear: Palestine is not alone As long as the violence persists, Moroccans will keep raising their voices—in the streets, at work, and across the globe.
MK/ac/sf/lb/gik/APA
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