Protesters want Morocco to sever ties with Israel, target strategic ports

More than a year of protests over Morocco’s decision to normalize ties with Israel has emboldened activists and widened a gap between the decisions of the government and the sentiments of the governed. The fury has spilled into the country’s strategic ports.

Amid shipping cranes and stacked containers, 34-year-old agricultural engineer Ismail Lghazaoui marched recently through a sea of Palestinian flags and joined protesters carrying signs that read “Reject the ship,” in reference to a vessel transporting fighter jet components from Houston, Texas.

Activists are urging Moroccan port officials to try to block ships carrying military cargo to Israel, much like Spain did last year. Protests often target Danish shipping company Maersk, which helps transport components used to make Lockheed Martin’s F-35 as part of the U.S. Defense Department's Security Cooperative Participant Program that facilitates weapons sales to allies including Israel.

A similar boycott campaign landed Lghazaoui in prison last year, but that didn't deter him from turning out again for resurgent protests last month, after his release. Lghazaoui is one of more than a dozen activists pursued by Moroccan authorities for criticizing the government’s ties with Israel.

During a rally in November in Casablanca where Lghazaoui spoke, plainclothes officers beat him and others to prevent them from advancing toward the U.S. Consulate, he said. He later posted about Maersk on social media and was arrested and charged with incitement. Originally sentenced to a year, he served two months in prison and two on parole after the term was reduced.

“They try to silence people,” Lghazaoui told The Associated Press. “They were using me to dissuade people or to push people away