Israel’s Moroccan Sahara Recognition: Biden Should Jump on Bandwagon, The Sun

President Joe Biden has to end the decades-long, unsuccessful diplomacy as Israel joins the United States in recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, reported British newspaper “The Sun“.
Columnist Benny Avni wrote that Jerusalem acknowledged Rabat’s long-standing rule over the Sahara this week, adding that other than phosphate and fisheries, the desert tract has few natural resources, but it is still a source of ongoing hostilities between Morocco and Algeria, the backer of Polisario.
The author recalled that President Trump was the first to declare in 2020 America’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Sahara territory. The proclamation gave a boost to the Abraham Accords, a set of peace treaties between Israel and four Arab nations, including Morocco.
President Biden did not formally revoke Washington’s recognition despite bipartisan pressure to overturn the decision. Instead, he outsourced American strategy to the UN, a place where peace-brokering initiatives usually fail.
“We fully support the UN personal envoy of the secretary-general, Staffan de Mistura, as he intensifies efforts to achieve an enduring and dignified political solution for Sahara,” US Department of State spokesperson Miller told reporters this week.
Since De Mistura was appointed special envoy two years ago, the veteran UN troubleshooter has rarely shown up in the region, as he provided no new input to solve the impasse other than promoting the UN peacekeeping mission known as Minurso.
In his recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty, President Trump wrote that “an independent Sahrawi State is not a realistic option for resolving the conflict and that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution.”
Morocco was the first nation in the world to recognize the United States in the 18th century. Among all Arab nations, its relations with Israel are probably the warmest at the moment. Biden sees that the Abraham Accords should be expanded to include more countries than just Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Morocco.
Ending Washington’s ambiguity and pushing allies to support Rabat on the Sahara issue may persuade other Arab nations that there are advantages to joining the circle of Mideast peace.