Zionist Airlines starts tourist flights to Morocco

SANAA, Jul. 25 (YPA) – The two Israeli airlines, El Al and Israir, will start the first direct tourist flights to the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, within the framework of normalization between the two sides.

Moroccan officials said on Sunday that in addition to these two companies, a third company, Arkia, will start its flights to Morocco on August 4th.

These flights will link directly between Tel Aviv, Marrakech and Casablanca, in a move aimed at attracting 38,000 Israeli tourists to Morocco by the end of this year, while Royal Air Maroc will bring 12,000 Israeli tourists by the end of 2021.

Morocco aspires to bring in 200,000 “tourists” from the occupation by 2022, according to “Reuters”.

Zubair Bouhoud, a researcher in the tourism field, said, “Israeli tourists have always come to Morocco, but via indirect flights. The difference today is the direct connection, which will speed up travel operations.”

He added that “tourist trips between Morocco and Israel have been postponed several times due to the epidemiological situation.”

Morocco had restored diplomatic relations with the occupation on the tenth of last December, in exchange for the United States’ recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara region, which has been disputed with the Polisario Front since 1976.

The move sparked popular Moroccan rejection and Palestinian anger.