عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Morocco Partially Reshuffles Government

Photo of King Mohammed VI and members of the government (MAP)
Photo of King Mohammed VI and members of the government (MAP)
TT
TT

Morocco Partially Reshuffles Government

Photo of King Mohammed VI and members of the government (MAP)
Photo of King Mohammed VI and members of the government (MAP)

Morocco saw this week a partial cabinet reshuffle, official sources announced.

The ministers of education, higher education, agriculture, health, and transport and logistics were changed, but several key figures retained their posts, including the ministers of interior, foreign affairs, justice and religion, according to Reuters.

Amine Tahraoui was appointed Health Minister, replacing Khalid Ait Taleb while Azzedine El Midaoui is now the new Minister of Higher Education, replacing Abdelatif Miraoui.

Mohamed Saad Berrada replaced Chakib Benmoussa as the new Minister of Education. Benmoussa was appointed last week to lead the High Commission for Planning (HCP)—a pivotal governmental body responsible for shaping national development policies.

Also, Ahmed Bouari will replace Mohamed Sadiki as Minister of Agriculture, while Naima Ben Yahia will replace Aawatif Hayar as Minister of Solidarity and Family.

The reshuffle included the appointment of Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni as the country’s minister Delegate to the Head of Government in Charge of Digital Transition to replace Ghita Mezzour.

Also, six new secretaries of State were appointed while Abdessamad Kayouh will take on the Ministry of Transport and Logistics.

The Moroccan official news agency, MAP, said that King Mohammed VI met on Wednesday with Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and members of the government in its new form following the reshuffle.

The new ministers were then sworn in before the King.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Gaza Ceasefire Traps Netanyahu between Trump and Far-right Allies

This image grab from handout video footage released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a televised address in Jerusalem on January 18, 2025. (Photo by GPO / AFP)
This image grab from handout video footage released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a televised address in Jerusalem on January 18, 2025. (Photo by GPO / AFP)
TT
TT

Gaza Ceasefire Traps Netanyahu between Trump and Far-right Allies

This image grab from handout video footage released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a televised address in Jerusalem on January 18, 2025. (Photo by GPO / AFP)
This image grab from handout video footage released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a televised address in Jerusalem on January 18, 2025. (Photo by GPO / AFP)

Even before it was signed, the Gaza ceasefire forced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a tight spot - between a new US president promising peace and far-right allies who want war to resume. That tension is only likely to increase.
The stakes for Netanyahu are high -- keeping his coalition government on the one hand and on the other, satisfying US President Donald Trump who wants to use the ceasefire momentum to expand Israel's diplomatic ties in the Middle East.
One of Netanyahu's nationalist allies has already quit over the Gaza ceasefire, and another is threatening to follow unless war on Hamas is resumed at an even greater force than that which devastated much of Gaza for 15 months.
The clock is ticking. The first stage of the ceasefire is meant to last six weeks. By day 16 -- Feb. 4 -- Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas are due to start negotiating the second phase of the ceasefire, whose stated aim is to end the war.
Former police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party quit the government on Sunday and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that he will stay in government only if war resumes after the first phase until the total defeat of Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.
"We must go back in a completely different style. We need to conquer Gaza, instate a military rule there, even if temporarily, to start encouraging (Palestinian) emigration, to start taking territory from our enemies and to win," Smotrich said in an interview with Channel 14 on Sunday.
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, however, said on Wednesday he was focused on ensuring the deal moves from the first to second phase, which is expected to include a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
"Netanyahu is pressed between the far-right and Donald Trump," said political analyst Amotz Asa-El, with the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. "Netanyahu's coalition now is fragile and the likelihood that it will fall apart sometime in the course of 2025 is high."
Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Witkoff told Fox News on Wednesday that he will be on the ground overseeing the ceasefire, a signal that he will keep up the pressure he applied during the deal's negotiations.
According to six US, Israeli, Egyptian and other Mideast officials who spoke to Reuters in the run-up to the ceasefire announcement on Jan. 15, Witkoff played a crucial role in getting the deal over the line.
The ceasefire's first phase includes the release of hostages, a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces and aid flow into Gaza.
The second phase, if it happens, would include the release of remaining hostages and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces. A third phase is expected to start Gaza's reconstruction, overseen by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
One of the most difficult issues involved in negotiating the next phases is post-war Gaza's governance. Israel won't accept Hamas staying in power. Hamas so far has not given ground.
Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Sunday, that Hamas will never govern Gaza and if it reneges on the deal, Washington will support Israel "in doing what it has to do."
On Saturday, after his government signed off on the ceasefire, Netanyahu said Israel had US backing to resume fighting if the second stage talks prove futile, leaving himself some political leeway with Smotrich, for now.
"If we need to go back to the fighting, we will do so in new ways and with great force," Netanyahu said in a video statement.