Morocco refuses to host Negev Summit due to Israeli settlement expansion

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

On 18 June, Israel announced that it was ready to expand its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank by 4,500 new units

According to the Times of Israel, Morocco has announced that it will no longer be hosting next month’s Negev Forum, citing the Israeli government’s recent decision to expand its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

This year’s summit was initially set for March, but in light of drastic escalations between the Israeli military and Palestinian resistance, the forum was postponed to July.

Rabat agreed to host the summit last week, yet once Tel Aviv disclosed it was ready to expand its settlements in the West Bank by 4,500 new units, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu granting Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich control over its settlements in the Palestinian territories, Morocco decided to revoke its decision to host the annual forum.

The purported aim of the Negev Summit is to encourage political unity amongst Israel and its Arab allies to establish a security front against the Islamic Republic of Iran and was primarily formed with the purpose of establishing an alliance against Iran’s nuclear program. It consists of delegations from the UAE, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, and the US.

The Negev Summit was held for the first time on 27-28 March 2022. It was announced shortly after that it would become an annual summit.

Despite backlash from UN and US officials concerning Israel’s illegal settlements, Tel Aviv says that it will continue its expansion.

The Knesset approved the settlement expansion plans on 18 June. These plans entail that Tel Aviv will also legitimize its illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank, which were evacuated in 2005 following Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a result of the disengagement law.

This development comes a few days after the Palestinian Authority (PA) boycotted and canceled an organized economic meeting with a delegation from Israel over its decision to expand its illegal settlements.

A week prior, the PA also called on the international community to implement sanctions against Israel in response to its settlement expansion policies and constant aggression against the Palestinian people. 

The PA’s call on the international community came days after the Israeli authorities agreed to delay its plans to expand the so-called E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem, which, if constructed, would effectively split the occupied West Bank in two.