Israel and Morocco agreed to exchange ambassadors and open full embassies at a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz in New York on Wednesday.
The diplomatic upgrade came six years after Morocco joined the Abraham Accords, President Donald Trump’s initiative to normalize relations between Israel and the Arab world.
The new agreement between Israel and Morocco was signed one day after the sixth anniversary of Israel, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) inaugurating the Abraham Accords in 2020. Morocco joined the Accords three months later.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita joined Waltz and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to sign the agreement on Wednesday. Israel and Morocco agreed to establish full embassies for each other, an upgrade from the limited consulates they currently use, and exchange ambassadors. They also agreed to reinstate direct airline flights by the end of this year and expand cooperation in trade and finance.
Israel and the United States also reaffirmed their support for Moroccan sovereignty in the Western Sahara, a move that was much desired by the Moroccan government. Morocco currently controls about 80 percent of the region. The rest is controlled by separatist movements that want to wrest more control of the Sahara away from Morocco.
Morocco has proposed an “autonomy plan” that would resolve the Western Sahara dispute by creating an autonomous region under Moroccan sovereignty. The plan has attracted a good deal of international support, including a supportive resolution from the United Nations in November 2025.
“Establishment of full diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations between Morocco and Israel is in the common interest of both countries and will advance the cause of peace,” said a joint statement from the U.S., Israel, and Morocco on Wednesday.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, congratulated all three countries on Thursday for taking “an important step to deepen diplomatic relations between Israel and Morocco.”
“This week, together with ambassadors from the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Kazakhstan, we marked six years since the historic Abraham Accords. Today, we continue to strengthen them through actions, not just declarations,” Danon said.
“Six years in, President Trump’s historic Abraham Accords continue to replace old grievances in the Middle East with strong new economic ties and opportunity,” said Ambassador Waltz.
“The friendship between the Moroccan and Jewish peoples has deep roots and a rich history,” Foreign Minister Sa’ar said at the summit.
“The declaration we signed today outlines practical ways to upgrade ties between Israel and Morocco for the benefit of both peoples, and we will work to implement it,” he said.
Fox News on Wednesday asked Waltz if the past week’s attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen might bring the Saudis closer to joining the Abraham Accords, a long-sought-after leap forward for the initiative.
“The scourge of terrorism from them is unacceptable to the entire region. They continue to act as a proxy of the Iranian regime,” Waltz said of the Houthis.
“You cannot attempt to punish the rest of the world to achieve a political end. The oceans, trade and international waterways must remain open,” Waltz said of the Houthis’ bid to seize Yemen’s coastline and blockade the Red Sea.
The Saudis have expressed interest in the Abraham Accords but insist they will not join until Israel establishes a path to Palestinian statehood. Israel’s Ynet News on Thursday suggested the Houthi attacks might break down Riyadh’s resistance to making a formal alliance with Israel, as the Israelis are reportedly giving the Saudis informal intelligence-based assistance against the Yemeni insurgents.
Ynet speculated this was one reason why President Donald Trump refused several requests for military assistance from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) as Saudi-allied forces in Yemen crumbled before the Houthi advance last weekend. Egypt also declined a request for help from MBS, as did the Saudis’ nominal defense partners Pakistan and Turkey, so Trump might have held out Abraham Accords membership as the price for helping to fix Saudi Arabia’s problem in Yemen.