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Two Israeli airlines launched their first commercial flights between Israeꩲl and Morocco on Sunday, less than a year after the countries officially normalised relations.
Israir's flight depaᩚᩚᩚᩚ🐼ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚrted Tel Aviv for Marrakech with around 100 Israeli tourists, the company said, hours before Israeli national carrier El Al dispatched its first direct flight to the same destination.
Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov said the new direct flights wo﷽uld “help advance fruitful tourism, trade and economic cooperation and diplomatic agreements between💙 the two countries.”
Israel and Morocco agreed to normalise relations in late 2020 as part o𝓰f the U.S.-brokered “Abraham Accords.”
Morocco was among four💎 Arab nations, including🔜 the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
As part of the deal, the United States agreed to recognize Morocco's claim to the long-disputed Western Saharaꦫ regio𒅌n, however the Biden administration said it will review this decision. Morocco's 1975 annexation of Western Sahara is not recognized by the United Nations.
Many Israeli Jews have linea꧋ge that traces back to Morocco, which is still home to a small Jewish community of several thousand.
El Al 🌠said in a statement before the departure of its first flight that the company plans to operate f🍌ive flights per week between Israel and Morocco.
“We hope that now many can know Morocco better, to experience and be excited by this special country tꦆhat is deeply rooted in Israeli heritage, culture and experience,” said El Al CEO Avigal Sorek.
