RABAT, Morocco (AA): Israel and Morocco have agreed to enhance bilateral security cooperation, state media said.

Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai met Morocco’s Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance Abdellatif El Hammouchi in the capital Rabat on Thursday, and agreed to promote security cooperation to serve mutual interests, Morocco’s official MAP news reported on Thursday, quoting an official statement.

Shabtai’s 5-day visit to the North African country, which started on Monday, aims to exchange expertise in the field of counter-terrorism and cross-border organized crimes, it added.

According to The New Arab, Shabtai has faced criticism for numerous Israeli police abuses against Palestinians, as well as his conclusion that the assault of mourners during journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral was a “complex event”. 

The memorandum of understanding between Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and his Moroccan counterpart Abdellatif Loudiyi was signed on Wednesday in Rabat.

In a statement, Gantz said that the agreement was “very significant and will allow us to exchange ideas, enter joint projects and enable Israeli military exports here.”

The police chief also recently visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to promote bilateral security cooperation.

Israeli army Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and other top officials have visited Morocco since it normalized relations with Tel Aviv in 2020 after UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, a move decried by Palestinians as a “stab in the back.”

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar

[Map of Morocco by CiA Factbook/Public Domain]