🇮🇱🇲🇦 Israel expands military footprint in North Africa & opens permanent defense mission in Morocco Israel is deepening defense ties with Morocco as a delegation led by Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram met senior Moroccan defense officials on November 10. Baram is due to inaugurate Israel's permanent Defense Attaché office in Rabat, led by Col. Sharon Itach – the country's first permanent defense attaché to Morocco. Israel is also reportedly seeking to establish military manufacturing facilities inside the North African kingdom. Israel's expansion of military ties in North Africa and the establishment of a permanent defense mission in Rabat are seen as part of Tel Aviv's methodical efforts to expand its Hexagon Alliance and strengthen its footprint across Africa. Morocco's neighbor Algeria views Israel's growing presence as a security threat, while providing support for the Polisario Front, which challenges Morocco's claim to Western Sahara. Israel and the US recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for Rabat’s normalization of relations with Tel Aviv. In 2020, Morocco and Israel signed the Abraham Accords, while the cornerstone of their defense ties became the November 2021 Defense Memorandum of Understanding, which: 🌏 marked the first time Israel established a formal defense framework with an Arab nation 🌏 laid the groundwork for direct intelligence sharing and established joint military committees 🌏 opened the door to Israeli defense companies entering the Moroccan market and established a framework for industrial cooperation Over the years, Morocco has acquired a wide range of Israeli military equipment through government-to-government contracts. These include: ➡️ The $500 million Barak MX air and missile defense system (2022) ➡️ A $1 billion, five-year contract to replace existing Airbus and Thales space-based surveillance systems with Israel's Ofek-13 spy satellites (2024) ➡️ A $200 million contract for 36 Atmos 2000 self-propelled artillery systems manufactured by Elbit Systems (2025) ➡️ Israeli-made drones, including Elbit Systems' Hermes 450 and Hermes 900, as well as IAI's Heron 1. 👍 Substack | Chat | @geopolitics_prime