Israel participates in Moroccan defense expo for first time

Israel's defense ministry said on Thursday it had opened a national pavilion and led a delegation at the Marrakesh Airshow 2026, its first official participation at a defense exhibition in Morocco.

"For the First Time in Morocco: Israel MOD Opened a National Pavilion and Led an Israeli Delegation to Marrakech Airshow 2026," the defense ministry said in a statement, the latest sign of closer ties between Rabat and Israel.

"This marks Israel's first official participation in the defense exhibition held in Morocco since the signing of the Abraham Accords," it added.

Israel and Morocco established ties in 2020 as part of the US-led Abraham Accords, under which several Arab states normalized relations with Israel.

In September, Israel's foreign ministry announced the two countries had agreed to open respective embassies following a meeting between their top diplomats and the US ambassador to the United Nations in New York.

Israel's defense ministry said eight Israeli defense companies exhibited "advanced, combat-proven technologies at the show" in Marrakesh, which runs until Saturday.

"Israel's three major defense industries, Elbit Systems, IAI, and Rafael, also exhibited, presenting solutions across the air, land, sea, space, intelligence, cyber, and digital domains," it added.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people gathered in Rabat to protest normalization and show support for Palestinians, on the third anniversary of Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war.