New diplomatic tensions between Algiers and Rabat. The Algerian government has decided to “immediately reinstate” the visa for “all foreigners holding a Moroccan passport”, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday, September 26, quoted by the official APS agency, accusing its neighbor of deploying “Zionist intelligence agents”.
Algeria accuses Morocco of taking advantage of the visa exemption regime to deploy “Zionist intelligence agents (…) to freely access the national territory” and carry out “various actions detrimental to the stability of Algeria and its national security”.
A rapprochement between Morocco and Israel
On September 1, the Tlemcen (west) prosecutor’s office announced the arrest of several people, including four Moroccans, accused of being part of “a spy network”. The borders between the two countries have been closed since 1994 but freedom of movement had not been called into question. The recent rapprochement between Morocco and Israel has aroused the distrust of Algeria, Rabat’s regional rival and supporter of the Palestinian cause.
Algiers broke off diplomatic relations with Rabat in August 2021, denouncing a series of “hostile acts” by its neighbor, also concerning the disputed territory of Western Sahara and support for the separatists of the Kabylie Autonomy Movement (MAK), which Algiers has classified as a terrorist organization.