The outgoing US President Donald Trump is going to have peace deals US brokered in the Middle East as his biggest legacy. Trump announced on Thursday that Israel and Morocco have agreed to normalize relations, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to make peace with Israel in the last four months.
Making the announcement, Trump said Israel and Morocco would restore diplomatic relations and even reopen liaison offices in Tel Aviv and Rabat before opening embassies. The United States will also recognize Morocco's claim over Western Sahara, which was previously Spanish territory in North Africa and a long-disputed region.
"Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations – a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East!" Trump tweeted.
Morocco's claim over Western Sahara
Trump acknowledged the fact that Morocco had been the first country to recognize the US as an independent nation only a year after independence from Britain in 1776. The move to recognize Morocco's claim over Western Sahara is only fitting, Trump said.
"The president reaffirmed his support for Morocco's serious, credible, and realistic autonomy proposal as the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute over the Western Sahara territory and as such the president recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the entire Western Sahara territory," the White House said.
