Israel Sends Observers to Military Drill in Morocco

YERUSHALAYIM (Reuters/Hamodia) — Israeli military observers have taken part in a drill in Morocco for the first time, Israel’s Defense Ministry said, describing the move as a mark of improved relations, which were upgraded in 2020.

The presence of the three observers at this week’s “African Lion 2022” exercise, which also involved U.S. forces, followed the participation last year of a Moroccan counter-terrorism unit at a multinational drill in Israel, the ministry said.

The U.S. Africa Command said the operation involved some 7,500 service members and ran between June 6 through 30 in Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia. (The latter of which does not have any diplomatic ties with Israel.)

Joining the host countries were troops from Brazil, Chad, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, AFRICOM said.

The drill featured several live-fire exercises, maritime and air drills, “a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear response exercise,” and other “humanitarian civic assistance” exercises, according to AFRICOM.