Kushner heads to Morocco to mark normalisation with Israel

Kushner, President Donald Trumps son-in-law, led the diplomatic push that saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco normalize relations with Israel in historic agreements that also brought them major favours from Washington.The delegation is being led by Kushner and Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, who are expected to meet with Moroccos King Mohammed VI and other top officials.

Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner was leading a delegation from Israel to Morocco on Tuesday on the first known direct flight since the two countries agreed to establish full diplomatic ties earlier this month as part of a series of US-brokered normalisation accords with Arab countries. Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, led the diplomatic push that saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco normalize relations with Israel in historic agreements that also brought them major favours from Washington.

The delegation is being led by Kushner and Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, who are expected to meet with Morocco's King Mohammed VI and other top officials. Morocco, which is home to a small but centuries-old Jewish community and has long welcomed Israeli tourists, secured US recognition of its 1975 annexation of the disputed region of Western Sahara, which is not recognised by the United Nations.

Before Israel's establishment in 1948, Morocco was home to a large Jewish population, many of whose ancestors migrated to North Africa from Spain and Portugal during the Spanish Inquisition. Today, hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews trace their lineage to Morocco, and a small community of Jews, estimated at several thousand people, continues to live there. On the tarmac in Israel, Kushner said that he hopes the delegation's visit will “pave the way for another warm peace between Israel and Morocco,” pointing to the emerging ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

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