Israel acknowledges Western Sahara

Israel has recognised Rabat's sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, which the separatist movement Polisario Front claims as its territory. Deutsche Welle notes that a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's office said the country was considering opening a consulate in the Western Sahara. Morocco's royal palace had earlier announced the decision, saying it was expressed in a letter from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Moroccan King Mohammed VI. The Israeli position ‘will be sent to the United Nations, regional and international organisations,’ the statement quoted the letter as saying. The Western Sahara is a stretch of land south of Morocco, mostly bordering Mauritania, with a small part sharing the Algerian border. Since the Spanish colonisation of the region ended in 1975, Morocco annexed Western Sahara, sparking a 15-year conflict with the separatist Polisario Front movement, which is supported by Algeria. The conflict ended with a 1991 cease-fire agreement brokered by the UN. However, the Polisario Front renewed the conflict in 2020, declaring the entire Western Sahara a ‘war zone’.