The Israeli manufacturer of 'suicide drones' invoices 19.4 million euros to Morocco in the middle of the Sahara conflict

Details about the relationship of the military cooperation agreement that Israel and Morocco sealed in Rabat last week begin to emerge at the height of the Western Sahara conflict. The Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) company has received payments for an amount of 22 million dollars (19.4 million euros) from Morocco, as confirmed by the Haaretz newspaper through access to the last two quarterly reports sent by the main country's aircraft manufacturer to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Among other models, IAI manufactures the Harop suicide drone, a small unmanned aircraft with a radius of action of more than 1,000 kilometers, difficult to detect by radar and capable of transporting more than 20 kilos of explosive charge.

The Polisario Front has denounced the death since mid-November of a dozen civilians in drone bombardments in Western Sahara, which it attributes to the Moroccan Army. Israel Aerospace Industries has limited itself to replying to the information from Haaretz that it "does not make statements about its sales in Africa." The Government of Rabat is silent in the face of the accusations of the Polisario. Since November 14, 2020, when the Polisario Front declared the rupture of the ceasefire with Morocco, in force since 1991, the conflict in the former Spanish colony has intensified.

The US weekly Defense News reported in October, citing Moroccan sources, that Israel intends to sell drones to Morocco through the agreement to normalize relations between the two countries established a year ago under US sponsorship. The French information digital portal Africa Intelligence adds that both countries are negotiating the formula to jointly manufacture suicide drones in Morocco.

The financial report corresponding to the third quarter of 2021, submitted last week by the IAI company to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where its shares are listed, details that its aviation division registered an income of 10 million dollars in the second quarter, and another of 12 million dollars in the third quarter, according to the documentation handled by Haaretz, which confirmed in sources close to the operations that both payments had been made by Morocco. The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported in October that IAI was operating in the North African country through its subsidiary BlueBird Aero Systems, which specializes in tactical drones.

The Polisario Front denounced the death of the Saharawi minor Baani Yeslem Sidi, 15 years old, on November 25 by a drone shot. On November 17, the organization also warned about the death of 11 civilians in two attacks allegedly carried out by Moroccan Army drones.

Months earlier, on April 8, the Polisario Front reported the death of the head of its National Guard, Adaj el Bendir, 65, who was hit by a drone attack as he was leaving after a incursion carried out in the area of ​​Western Sahara controlled by the Moroccan Army.

The Moroccan website Le Desk revealed that the operation had been carried out using an Israeli-made drone that marked the target with a laser beam. Afterwards, an F-16 fighter from the Moroccan Air Force fired at the head of the Polisario Front Guard, according to the version of the aforementioned Moroccan information portal.

A source from the Polisario Front who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “Morocco tries to hide the identity of the weapons it is using. But it was very clear to us." The same Saharawi source has indicated that he is not surprised by the news about Moroccan payments made to the Israeli aeronautical company. “The level of interaction between these two countries is not going to be limited to a purchase of drones for 22 million dollars. That's a ridiculous transaction. The true exchange will be much greater. And it is a cause for concern not only for the Sahrawis, but for Spain and France. This is exporting the entire conflict in the Middle East to the Mediterranean," he added.

The Harop suicide drones – defined by the IAI as “a combination of the capabilities of an unmanned aircraft and a lethal missile” – last year gave Azerbaijan military superiority over Armenia in their latest armed conflict over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabagh, with a majority of the Azeri population. Israel maintains a close alliance of interests with Azerbaijan, a country bordering Iran, a regional archenemy of the Jewish state. With a small size – 2.5 meters in length and three meters in wingspan – the Harop seeks, stalks and identifies targets before exploding on them.

Semi-hidden relationship for decades

Israel and Morocco have now publicly formalized a decades-old relationship of semi-hidden military cooperation. Although they already established ties in the light of day in 1993, following the Oslo Accords between Israelis and Palestinians, diplomatic ties were suspended after the outbreak of violence in the Second Intifada in 2000. Former US President Donald Trump it overturned the status quo by recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in December last year in exchange for Rabat normalizing its relationship with Israel.

This is not the first time that Morocco has purchased drones from Israel. In 2013 it bought, through France, three Heron reconnaissance drones, manufactured by IAI for use in Western Sahara. In 2019, it also acquired military radar and communications systems from Israel – the eighth largest arms exporter in the world – through third countries.

“The agreement on intelligence, the defense industry and military training will allow us to work on joint projects”, declared the Israeli defense minister, former general Benny Gantz, on November 24 in Rabat after the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding with his Moroccan counterpart, Abdelatif Ludiyi. Israel then highlighted "Morocco's role in maintaining peace and security in the region", despite the escalation of war tension in the Sahara and the rupture of diplomatic relations with Algeria.

The Administration of Democrat Joe Biden has preserved the Abraham Accords as a valuable diplomatic asset, which under the presidency of Republican Trump led to the normalization of relations between Israel and four Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan (now frozen due to its internal crisis) and Morocco. But while the two Gulf monarchies have preferred to put diplomacy and the economy at the forefront and have left security cooperation in the shadows, Morocco has chosen to keep a low diplomatic profile, with liaison offices instead of embassies, and to strengthen the tightening of defense ties in a sign of strengthening its military capacity in the midst of active conflicts in its neighborhood.

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