As the war between Israel and Hamas entered its second month, despite repeated calls for a humanitarian truce in Gaza, a video appeared on social media in which editors claimed Morocco could be seen sending thousands of nurses to work in hospitals Israelis.
However, the video actually dates back to a visit made by the Israeli Interior Minister to Morocco in 2022, during which the importation of a Moroccan healthcare worker to Israel was discussed.
The video shows what appears to be a television report of an official visit by an Israeli official to Morocco, and the accompanying caption states: “Morocco sends thousands of male and female nurses to work in Israeli hospitals.”
Morocco and Israel
The release of this video is part of the criticism leveled on social media against the Moroccan authorities following the normalization of its diplomatic relations with Israel in December 2020 under the US-sponsored Abraham Accords.
Despite the rapprochement between the two countries, the Kingdom regularly affirms its commitment to the Palestinian cause under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, who heads the “Jerusalem Committee” responsible for preserving the Arab-Islamic character of the city.
Morocco on Thursday expressed its regret at the “inertia of the international community” in the face of the “deteriorating humanitarian situation” in the Gaza Strip. The Moroccan Foreign Ministry called for “a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors”.
Since the start of the war, Moroccans have demonstrated in large numbers almost daily in solidarity with the Palestinian people and against normalization with Israel, chanting: “Palestine is trust and normalization is betrayal.”
Old video
However, the viral video is not new.
The first thing that makes you suspect that it is recent is people wearing medical masks, which indicates that it may have been photographed while taking Covid-19 prevention measures in recent years.
Indeed, searching for scenes from the video leads to the original version of the same, which is a France 24 report published in 2022.
This report talks about Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked’s visit to Morocco. The Israeli Interior Ministry reported at the time that Tel Aviv and Rabat intended to conclude a cooperation agreement to bring Moroccans to Israel to work in construction and nursing.
The ministry said in a statement that Shaked “agreed, during his meeting with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, to sign a bilateral agreement to bring construction and nursing workers to Israel.”