Netanyahu again sparks outrage for showing Western Sahara on Morocco map

LONDON - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked outrage on Wednesday after showing a map of the Middle East and North Africa region depicting the southern part of Morocco as “Western Sahara” during a press conference during which he insisted on the importance of not leaving the Philadelphi corridor to Hamas until it is secure.

Scores of Moroccans took to social media to condemn Netanyahu’s “repeated provocation”, three months after he showed, during his interview on French channel LCI, a map of Morocco without the Western Sahara, prompting the Israeli foreign ministry to apologise to Moroccan King Mohammed VI for the “technical error.”

Netanyahu’s latest “error” drew a widespread condemnation by Moroccans of his intentions about his government’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara.

The controversial Israeli PM’s office acknowledged of the social platform X that the name "Western Sahara" was mistakenly displayed in the territory of Morocco, reaffirming Israel’s recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.

But the tweets failed to alleviate Moroccans’ anger as they hit back at the tweets, questioning Israel’s seriousness of recognising Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara.

“We don't care. The Sahara is Moroccan whether you recognize it or not,” wrote Jaf on X.

“Isn't this the same "justification" that was used last time?” asked Igoudar on Twitter.

In July 2023, in a letter addressed to the Moroccan monarch, Netanyahu recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara.

But the Israeli PM ignited tensions with Morocco when a photograph of his office in October showed a map of Morocco without its Sahara as ties between the Jewish state and the North African Kingdom have become frosty since the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement of Hamas erupted Oct.7.