Morocco has signed a $1 billion deal with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), despite outcry over Israel’s war in Gaza.

Morroco reportedly finalised the deal with the state-owned aerospace manufacturer last year, signing it this week. The country will acquire an Israeli-made intelligence spy satellite, replacing their current models.

Economic and military cooperation began between Israel and Morocco in 2020, as part of the Abraham Accords. The historic bilateral agreements between Israel and Arab nations including Sudan, Bahrain and the UAE, normalised diplomatic relations.

Israel’s first agreement, made with the UAE, marked the first instance of Arab normalisation since 1994, when the Israel-Jordan treaty came into effect. In December 2020, Israel and Morocco established full diplomatic relations.

After the war in Gaza began in October, the Abraham Accords came under more strain. According to the Abraham Accords Peace Institute (AAPI)’s 2023 annual report, “the war had a strongly negative impact on regional public opinion towards Israel, while also slowing progress towards Israel-Saudi normalization”.

Many analysts have argued that Iran, which supports Hamas, intentionally funded the October 7 attacks to undermine the Israel-Saudi normalisation process.

Still, no Arab nations have cut ties with Israel since the start of the war, and the AAPI report acknowledges that “despite tensions and disagreements, the leaderships of the Abraham Accords countries affirmed their continued commitment to these historic agreements”.