News / Palestine / North Africa / Editor's Choice

Morocco signs deal with notorious Israel’s Elbit to buy ‘battle-tested’ arms: Report

Monday, 10 February 2025 7:13 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 10 February 2025 7:13 AM ]

The file photo shows an Israeli ATMOS 2000 truck-mounted howitzer.

Morocco has reportedly inked a contract with Israel’s Elbit Systems to buy self-propelled artillery systems that are marketed as “battle-tested” by the notorious weapons manufacturer.

The French newspaper La Tribune reported on Saturday that the deal, which entails the purchase of 36 Atmos 2000 (Autonomous Truck Mounted howitzer System), comes amid disputes with France’s KNDS, Morocco’s previous main arms supplier.

Tensions rose between the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and KNDS following technical failures in the French company’s Caesar artillery systems, which rendered several of them non-operational for Morocco.

With this new agreement, Israel has become Morocco’s third-largest weapons supplier, accounting for 11 percent of its total arms imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Elbit Systems supplies the Israeli occupation forces with drones, munitions, combat vehicles, missiles, and various other types of weaponry.

The company markets the majority of its arms as “battle-tested,” meaning they have been used in bloody attacks against the Palestinian people.

Last March, Elbit said its revenue boosted by higher ammunition sales to Israel for its genocidal war on Gaza.

The notorious company supplied hundreds of products to Israel's war ministry, including drones, artillery, munitions and electronic warfare systems.

Morocco ramps up use of Israeli drones in Western Sahara: Report

Rabat has gone from having covert ties with Tel Aviv to becoming its open ally in recent years.

Morocco signed a US-brokered normalization agreement with the Tel Aviv regime in 2020, drawing condemnations from Moroccans and Palestinians who slammed the pact as a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause.

As part of the deal, the US agreed to recognize Morocco’s claim over the disputed Western Sahara region, where the Algeria-backed Polisario Front seeks to establish an independent state there.

Morocco’s new partnership with Elbit Systems strengthens the Arab country’s military as it fights the Polisario Front.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk