Neither Morocco nor Saudi Arabia can unilaterally recognise Israel
The United States, Israel and the European Union are putting enormous pressure on Saudi Arabia and Morocco to endorse the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Tel Aviv does not need Abu Dhabi's support for its survival, but it does need it to mount a front against Iran. This is the message that Donald Trump has sent to the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the Moroccan monarch Mohammed VI through his son-in-law and private envoy Jared Kushner.
However, neither of the two capitals, Jeda and Rabat, can unilaterally recognise Israel without it accepting the existence of an independent Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and a capital in East Jerusalem.
The fear of popular reaction in Morocco is not the reason for Mohammed VI's rejection of the "pact of the century" proposed by the White House. On other occasions the Moroccan Royal Palace has clashed with public opinion in his country and the political parties, as occurred when Hassan II proposed holding a referendum on Western Sahara at the African summit in Nairobi in 1981. The political class came down on him, particularly the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, which issued a statement criticising the royal position. Hassan II did not hesitate to arrest and imprison the three top leaders of the USFP: Abderrahim Buabid, Mohammed El Yazgui and Mohammed Lahbabi. Previously, the historic leader and professor of the king at the Royal College, Mehdi Ben Barka, opposed the "war of the sands" between Morocco and Algeria in 1963; and the head of government Abdullah Ibrahim opposed the monarchy's ruling over the executive that emerged from the elections.
The main issue for Saudi Arabia and Morocco is not political but religious. Salman bin Abdulaziz as "Protector of the Holy Places" of Islam, Mecca and Medina, cannot forget that the Zionist state is holding the Palestinians hostage and the third holy place of Islam, Jerusalem, under military occupation. Israel closes access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque to Muslims whenever it pleases; the Saudis cannot accept this.
As for King Mohammed VI, as chairman of the al-Quds Committee, he is obliged to guard the holy city for all three monotheistic religions.
Both Morocco and Saudi Arabia have an unavoidable religious function and must protect the Palestinian people. The complexity of the matter is increased by the fact that over a million Israelis of Moroccan origin live in Israel and, according to the laws of the Alaouite kingdom, have de facto Moroccan nationality which they cannot renounce. The Moroccan sovereign, as Emir of the Believers, owes them protection, as do the thousands of Jews still living in Morocco. The political question, however, is different: both Morocco directly and Saudi Arabia indirectly do not oppose creating the conditions for political negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis to settle, if that is still possible, the conflict that has been poisoning the Middle East for over half a century. And this is not settled between the Emirates and Israelis, but by ceasing to create new Zionist colonies by force of arms and by Israel recognising the right of the Palestinians to have their own state.