Algerian diplomat condemns Arab normalization with Israel amid Gaza war
Former ambassador Ammar Belani says expanding ties between Morocco, the UAE and Israel are reshaping competition across North Africa and the Sahel
Former Algerian ambassador Ammar Belani criticized Morocco and the UAE for deepening ties with Israel while the Gaza war and violence in the West Bank continue. He argued that growing cooperation among Rabat, Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv spans diplomacy, defense, technology and security, and could reshape competition in North Africa and the Sahel while posing risks to Algeria. The claims were reported from Belani’s personal Facebook commentary and were not independently verified in the supplied source.
TEHRAN — Ammar Belani, a former Algerian ambassador to Egypt, has condemned the expansion of diplomatic and security ties between Israel and several Arab countries, arguing that normalization is continuing despite what he described as genocide in Gaza and escalating violence against civilians in the occupied West Bank.
In a commentary titled “Israel, Morocco and the UAE: Features of a New Axis of Evil,” published on his personal Facebook page, Belani criticized the normalization of relations with Israel and questioned the timing of closer cooperation between Israel, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
According to the report by Iran’s IRNA news agency, Belani said a ceremony held in New York on September 15, 2016, attended by representatives of Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Kazakhstan and the United States, highlighted the gradual transformation of the Abraham Accords into an organized network of diplomatic, economic and security relations.
The date in the report is presented as September 15, 2016, alongside the Iranian calendar date 24 Shahrivar. The source does not explain the discrepancy between those dates, and the account is therefore retained as reported.
Belani said Morocco and Israel took another step toward strengthening bilateral relations the day after the ceremony. The two sides, he wrote, announced plans to raise their diplomatic missions to embassy level, exchange ambassadors, resume direct flights and expand economic ties. Agreements intended to support investment and eliminate double taxation were also expected to be finalized before the end of 2026, according to the report.
He argued that these developments were taking place under what he called particularly tragic circumstances, as the war in Gaza continued and violence against Palestinian civilians intensified in the West Bank. Belani placed particular emphasis on Morocco’s role, noting that King Mohammed VI chairs the Al-Quds Committee and presents himself as a defender of occupied Jerusalem.
The former envoy accused Rabat of pursuing contradictory policies toward the Palestinian issue. In his account, Morocco expresses solidarity with Palestinians while simultaneously deepening its relationship with Israel. Belani said the normalization process had not slowed because of the war, but had instead continued steadily and at an accelerating pace.
He said cooperation between Morocco and Israel now extended beyond diplomatic relations to defense, drones, intelligence and military technology. In Belani’s assessment, the breadth of that cooperation indicated the emergence of a strategic partnership rather than a relationship limited to political or commercial exchanges.
Belani also criticized the UAE, describing it as another party responsible for what he called a betrayal of Palestine. He wrote that Abu Dhabi had decided to place itself under Israel’s protection well before the Abraham Accords and that Palestinian issues had never been among the UAE leadership’s priorities. These claims were presented as Belani’s political assessment in his Facebook commentary.
### A disputed three-way alignment
A central element of Belani’s argument was what he described as a developing Rabat-Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv triangle. He said the UAE was supporting Morocco through financing and arms and that the strengthening of ties among the three countries resembled an “unofficial trilateral military alliance.” In his view, such an alignment posed risks to Algeria’s security, stability and territorial integrity.
Belani further argued that the consequences of the Abraham Accords had moved beyond the Middle East into North Africa and the Sahel. He said the three countries were seeking to expand their influence in those regions, at the expense of regional stability, and that North Africa and the Sahel were becoming arenas for a new contest over power and influence.
According to the former ambassador, the emerging relationship was no longer made up of separate bilateral partnerships. Instead, it was moving toward interconnected cooperation in defense, investment, technology and security. He portrayed the process as the construction of a broader regional network in which the interests of Morocco, the UAE and Israel increasingly intersect.
Belani attributed distinct objectives to each of the three countries. Morocco, he said, was seeking to increase its regional influence; the UAE was expanding its economic and security presence; and Israel was strengthening its technical and military partnerships in an effort to build networks of influence and gain allies that could help reduce its isolation.
He concluded that the Maghreb and the Sahel were becoming arenas of competition for influence and warned that organized relations among the three countries could gradually redraw regional equations.
The claims and characterizations in the commentary were made by Belani and reported by IRNA. The supplied report does not include responses from Morocco, the UAE or Israel, nor does it independently verify the alleged military, intelligence or financial arrangements described by the former Algerian diplomat.