Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed plans to recognise Morocco's sovereignty over a Western Sahara region.
Mr Netanyahu made the announcement in a letter sent to King Mohammed VI, Morocco's Map state news agency said.
“In this regard, the Israeli Prime Minister affirmed that his country's position will be embodied in all the relevant works and documents of the Israeli government,” it said.
In his message, Mr Netanyahu said Israel was considering opening a consulate in the Moroccan city of Dakhla.
Last month, Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi visited Rabat to discuss Israel's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara region.
The area is claimed by Morocco, which controls 80 per cent of its territory, but the Algeria-backed Polisario Front continues to demand a referendum on it becoming an independent state.
The two sides fought a 15-year war over the territory after Spanish colonial forces withdrew in 1975.
Morocco resumed ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords in 2020, encouraged by then US president Donald Trump, who recognised Rabat's rule over the region.
But President Joe Biden has not followed through by opening a consulate there.
The Israeli military also appointed its first attaché to Morocco on Monday. Col Sharon Itach, of Moroccan origin, is leading the country's Home Front Command.
It comes after the military sent its first delegation of troops for a US-led drill in Morocco in June.
The two nations have intensified diplomatic relations. Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita hosted Mr Hanegbi for talks in June.
Morocco recently postponed a summit for the signatories of the Abraham Accords that was scheduled to be held in the summer, citing political reasons thought to be linked to tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.
Asked earlier this month what Israel sought in return for the recognition of the Sahara region as Moroccan, and whether it planned to open a consulate in the territory, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen linked a decision to the conference.
“We are right now working in regards to this issue and our plan is to have our final decision in the Negev Forum,” he told reporters.
Mr Cohen said he expected the Moroccan-hosted event to take place in September or October.
Tensions have been rising in the occupied West Bank as Israel has conducted several fatal raids in Nablus and Jenin, with dozens killed.
Palestinian attacks against settlers are also on the rise, the latest on Sunday where a gunman opened fire at a vehicle, injuring three Israelis.
“Morocco expresses its solidarity with the Palestinian people and rejects the Israeli government decision of expanding settlements in the West Bank,” Mr Bourita said last month.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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More coverage from the Future Forum
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
