2 days ago
Algerian-Tunisian Caravan Displays Amputated Morocco Map, Undermines Gaza Solidarity
Doha – The Sumod Caravan ('Steadfast Caravan') heading toward Gaza has ignited controversy across Morocco after revealing its true colors—displaying maps that deliberately excluded the country's Saharan provinces and exposing a venomous anti-Morocco agenda.
What began as a purported solidarity mission for Palestinians has devolved into a politically charged campaign that exploits the Palestinian cause to promote separatist agendas.
Images circulating online show the caravan, comprised of activists from Tunisia and Algeria, using truncated maps of Morocco that omit the Sahara region. These activists have brandished mutilated maps of the country, amputating Morocco's Western Sahara region in a calculated affront to the nation's territorial integrity.
This comes despite the realpolitik reality of over 120 countries, including the US, France, Spain, and the UK, recognizing Morocco's sovereignty over the territory.
The convoy departed from Tunisia on Monday, headed toward eastern Libya near the Egyptian border, amid an atmosphere charged with anti-Morocco rhetoric primarily driven by Algerian participants with well-documented hostility toward the North African country.
The deliberate exclusion of Morocco's flag from vehicles in the convoy raises suspicions about some of the caravan's true intentions. These actions have generated widespread condemnation across Moroccan civil society, with many viewing this not as a simple technical error but as a premeditated political message undermining Morocco's territorial unity.
A hollow rhetoric
The empty grandstanding of 'brotherhood' and 'one nation' the caravan's organizers promote is deeply at odds with their conduct. While claiming to uphold solidarity among peoples, they knowingly undermine Moroccan sovereignty—revealing how such slogans collapse when opportunistic politics take precedence.
The cold war relic Polisario, Algeria's puppet separatist group, has long instrumentalized the Palestinian struggle. The infiltration of this humanitarian caravan by Algerian regime agents proves how far they'll go to weaponize Palestinian suffering against Morocco.
These infiltrators have transformed what should be a noble cause into a platform for pushing separatist propaganda, betraying both Maghreb unity and Palestinian interests.
Algeria even created a Polisario flag deliberately mimicking the Palestinian flag, cynically appropriating Palestinian symbolism for their separatist agenda. This manipulation compromises genuine Arab solidarity, undermining sincere efforts to support Palestinians while exploiting their plight.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's position speaks volumes.
In a Wednesday statement, Cairo stressed that any foreign delegations visiting border areas adjacent to Gaza must obtain 'prior approvals,' effectively creating obstacles for the caravan's passage—a move some observers interpret as rejection of initiatives carrying suspicious messages against Morocco.
The contrast between rhetoric and reality extends to the Algerian regime's domestic policies. While vocally championing Palestinian rights on international stages, Algeria routinely prevents its citizens from organizing pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Algerian cities. These movements face security crackdowns, arrests, and intimidation—indicating profound contradictions in Algeria's proclaimed solidarity.
Morocco's support for Palestine is anything but recent or symbolic
Meanwhile, Morocco's commitment to the Palestinian cause is unimpeachable and anything but recent or symbolic. The country has long demonstrated unwavering support, with near-daily protests erupting across its cities—an outpouring so visible that some Israeli media outlets have labeled Morocco the most hostile country to the Hebrew state. Yet Morocco's stance goes beyond slogans or theatrics; it is grounded in consistent, concrete actions.
Historically, Moroccan fighters stood alongside Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi (Saladin) during the Crusades, especially in the liberation of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) in 1187 at the Battle of Hattin. Records confirm that Amazigh and Arab soldiers from the Maghreb—particularly from what is now Morocco and under the rule of Almohad Sultan Yaqub al-Mansur—formed part of the larger Ayyubid army.
In fact, after Jerusalem was liberated, Saladin granted the Moroccan fighters their own neighborhood in the city: Harat al-Maghariba (the Moroccan Quarter), near the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This quarter remained a symbol of Moroccan presence and contribution to the defense of Palestine until it was destroyed by Israel in 1967 following the occupation of East Jerusalem.
When it comes to the modern era, its support dates back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, when Moroccan volunteers fought in Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Haifa, with more than ten Moroccans killed in these battles. In the 1970s, Israel detained three Moroccans who were part of the Palestinian revolution forces.
The country's leadership of the Al-Quds Committee since 1979—established by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 1975—has provided tangible assistance to Palestinians. Through both the committee and the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency, Morocco supports Palestinians in health, education, housing, youth affairs, and heritage preservation.
Morocco's diplomatic stance has only hardened amid Israel's genocide in Gaza, which has killed at least 62,000 people. With repeated and periodic official condemnations, Morocco continues to lead in exposing and rejecting the mass slaughter of Palestinians.
In February 2024, Morocco presented arguments before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the legal consequences of Israeli policies in occupied Palestinian territories. Morocco called for respect for international law and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, in accordance with relevant international resolutions.
The Palestinian-Moroccan relationship has evolved despite historical complications. Though early Palestinian Liberation Organization leaders like George Habash and Nayef Hawatmeh expressed support for the 'Western Sahara struggle and the Polisario Front against Morocco,' relations improved significantly after King Hassan II stepped back from separate peace efforts with Israel in 1986.
Even its renewal of relations with Israel was guided by strategic intent—to serve the Palestinian cause more effectively from within. One such example came in April 2024, when Morocco became the first country to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and Al-Quds directly by land, under the instructions of King Mohammed VI.
A flagrant manipulation by opportunistic regimes
The Algerian regime's exploitation of the Palestinian cause poisons genuine Maghreb and Arab solidarity, turning a sacred struggle into a political tool and sabotaging sincere efforts to support the Palestinian people.
Algeria's hypocrisy extends beyond Palestine—it preaches freedom while supporting the Polisario, which detains populations in Tindouf camps under abhorrent conditions.
The compromised caravan comes in the wake of other legitimate solidarity efforts, notably the Madleen which sailed under the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, whose activists were detained while attempting to break Israel's illegal Gaza blockade.
Unlike the politically-motivated caravan, the Madleen initiative garnered support from 153 human rights and civil society organizations from 22 countries, including numerous Moroccan organizations that signed a global appeal calling for urgent action from UN Special Rapporteurs and the International Committee of the Red Cross to lift the Gaza blockade.
The march itself, which began as a humanitarian initiative to break the siege on Gaza and address the genocide and starvation faced by Palestinians, has been corrupted by Algeria's exploitation.
What could have been simply a meaningful display of regional solidarity has instead been drowned in political machinations that were previously foreign to it, especially given the difficult context of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
The hijacking of Palestinian solidarity movements by separatist agents is an unforgivable betrayal of both causes. True supporters of Palestine must reject such cynical manipulation and recognize those who genuinely stand with Palestinians versus those who exploit their suffering for petty regional vendettas.
Read also: Algeria, Tunisia Skip Arab Summit: A Saga of Diplomatic Isolation and Hypocrisy
