Link to article- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-morocco-israel-protests/moroccan-authorities-prevent-protest-against-israel-ties-in-rabat-idUSKBN28O2MK
Morocco is preventing their citizens from protesting against their decision to restore relations with Israel, with a deal in relation to the United States. This deal was agreed upon by the Moroccans because the United States promised to recognize their sovereignty of the Western Sahara. Many of the mainstream political parties have vouched for the deal, but Islamist groups are in opposition. The protestors in question at Rabat are a pro-Palestinian rights group, but with heavy police presence and anti-riot forces, the group was unable to get to the square in Rabat. Some local authorities are making a plea that the demonstration was against their COVID-19 restrictions. However, Hassan Bennajeh, a leader of the group of pro-Palestinians, says that this was a more political call because just a few days before they had allowed a demonstration in support of the deal.
Although it seems to be in the interest of the major political parties of Morocco to go through on this deal, I believe that they should have allowed the pro-Palestinians to hold their protest. The article depicted the protest as just being a sit-in, making it very unlikely for there to be any violence or disruption to Rabat. From this denial of the freedom of speech and assembly, it will create even more of a conflict between the political parties in Morocco that are in favor of the deal and the Islamist groups that are against it.
This situation can be looked at from a realist perspective to explain the actions of the groups involved. The political parties of Morocco, the United States, and the Islamist protest groups are the many different actors involved. Morocco’s goal is to gain more power in their region by signing this deal with the United States to ensure their sovereignty. The United States is proposing the deal to gain more allies with Israel. By acting in a way to improve their international standing with the new approach to Arab-Israeli relations, Morocco takes on a realist approach to their place in the world.