Morocco: pro-Palestinian rally held in Casablanca

Moroccans rallied in support of Palestinians in Casablanca on Sunday, calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for an end to diplomatic relations with Israel.

Tens of thousands lined the streets of Casablanca, waving Palestinian flags and wearing the distinctive black and white keffiyeh scarves. 

Protesters called for an end to relations between Morocco and Israel, three years after their normalisation in 2020 as part of a broader process between Israel and several Arab countries. 

In the years since, the number of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the North African country had seen a marked decline but the war between Israel and Hamas, which began following the Hamas attack on October 7, has sparked a fresh wave of pro-Palestinian sentiment.

"What we need is not a truce, but a definitive ceasefire so that we can sit down together and give peace a chance," said Socialist MP Nabila Mounib. "The creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital, the possibility of the return of all the exiles from the entire Palestinian diaspora and the release of the prisoners in the jails of the Zionist state."

The protests came on the third day of a four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, following seven weeks of war which has resulted in the deaths of almost 15,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis, according to officials from both sides.