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Morocco Picks Israel’s Elbit Systems as Main Weapons Supplier as Abraham Accords Hold Strong
Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev signs transport agreements with Morocco, 30 May 2023. Photo: Israeli Liaison Office in Morocco
Morocco has chosen an Israeli defense firm as its main weapons supplier, highlighting the resilience of the Abraham Accords amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The Moroccan army has signed a contract to purchase 36 Atmos 2000 self-propelled artillery systems from Israel’s Elbit Systems, according to French newspaper La Tribune. This marks the latest example of growing defense collaboration between the two countries.
Since 2020, as part of the Abraham Accords — a series of historic US-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries — defense and economic cooperation between Israel and Morocco has grown, alongside diplomatic ties with Sudan, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
The new contract comes after rising tensions between the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR) and the French company KNDS, a former key weapons supplier to Morocco.
With this new deal, Israel is now Morocco’s third-largest weapons supplier, accounting for 11 percent of its total arms imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Despite the war in Gaza, which has heightened tensions between Israel and much of the Arab world, economic and defense cooperation between Morocco and the Jewish state have remained strong.
Last year, Morocco signed a $1 billion deal with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to acquire an intelligence spy satellite from the Israeli defense company.
In 2023, trade between the two countries doubled to $116.7 million from $56.2 million in 2022. This marked the fastest growth among the Arab countries that established ties with the Jewish state in 2020, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan, according to the Abraham Accord Peace Institute (AAPI).
Although Morocco has normalized relations with Israel and strengthened economic and defense cooperation, the country’s leadership has expressed criticism of Israeli actions on several occasions.
Last week, Morocco joined other Arab countries around the world in opposing US President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, arguing that it would set a “dangerous precedent” and violate international humanitarian law.
At a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump proposed transferring ownership of Gaza to the United States, which would rebuild it by clearing debris and creating jobs.
He also claimed that this plan would bring stability to the region and suggested that Palestinians “should not go through a process of rebuilding,” but instead be relocated to other countries in the region, at least temporarily.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, Morocco is one of the countries being considered for Palestinian resettlement, along with Egypt, Jordan, Somalia, and Puntland in northern Somalia.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
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