Algeria Says Morocco Involved in Israeli Spy Operation

By Al Mayadeen English

The escalating tensions between Algeria and Morocco have taken a new turn as Algeria accused Rabat of sending Israeli intelligence agents into the country using Moroccan passports.

Algeria has accused Morocco of sending Israeli intelligence agents, reportedly using Moroccan passports, and acting against the country’s stability and national security, according to Algerian news agency APS, which cited the Foreign Ministry.

The report, published on Thursday, also stated that Algeria's Foreign Ministry accused Morocco of facilitating various crime networks, including drug and human trafficking, smuggling, illegal migration, and espionage.

In response, the Algerian government has implemented a requirement for all foreign citizens holding Moroccan passports to obtain mandatory entry visas.

The big picture

Algeria severed its relations with Morocco on August 24, 2021. Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra,said at the time that this comes after history proved that the Kingdom of Morocco has never stopped carrying out "despicable acts against our country since independence... Morocco's hostility is systematic and deliberate, since the 1963 war against Algeria."

He explained that the last "hostile" acts from Morocco were statements made by the foreign minister of the Israeli occupation entity from Morocco against Algeria, pointing out that "it has not happened since 1948 that an Israeli minister issued aggressive statements from an Arab country against another Arab country."

The border between Morocco and Algeria has been closed since 1994 after the bombings of the "Atlas Asni" hotel in Marrakech when the late King Hassan II imposed a visa on Algerians to enter the country, which prompted Algeria at the time to close the land borders between the two countries.

That said, Algeria's President Abdelmedjid Tebboune said last year that relations with Morocco had reached "the point of no return."