Overview
- Senior Moroccan and Israeli diplomats met in New York on Thursday, September 17, 2026, and issued a joint communiqué upgrading their current diplomatic missions to full embassies.
- The United States publicly endorsed the move and, together with Israel, reaffirmed recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the entirety of Western Sahara in the communiqué.
- The pact commits both countries to restore direct Rabat–Tel Aviv flights before the end of the year and to promote expanded economic and political cooperation through high-level visits.
- The Moroccan Foreign Ministry had not published its own statement at the time of reporting and large domestic protests calling for a break with Israel continue to challenge the deal’s political acceptance at home.
- The agreement revives elements of the Abraham Accords and sets up new diplomatic pressure points at the United Nations where upcoming MINURSO discussions and Polisario-related negotiations leave the Sahara’s final status unresolved.