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Israel, Morocco to Upgrade Ties and Open Embassies, Israeli FM Says

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita meet in Rabat, Morocco August 11, 2021. (Reuters)
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita meet in Rabat, Morocco August 11, 2021. (Reuters)
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Israel, Morocco to Upgrade Ties and Open Embassies, Israeli FM Says

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita meet in Rabat, Morocco August 11, 2021. (Reuters)
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita meet in Rabat, Morocco August 11, 2021. (Reuters)

Israel and Morocco plan to upgrade their restored diplomatic relations and open embassies within several months, Israel's foreign minister said during a visit to the North African kingdom on Thursday.

Morocco was one of four Arab countries - along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan - to move towards normalizing relations with Israel last year under US-engineered accords.

Those agreements also saw Washington recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.

"We are going to upgrade from liaison offices to embassies," Yair Lapid told a news conference.

In similar comments to Israeli reporters accompanying him on a two-day trip that began on Wednesday, Lapid was quoted as saying that he had agreed with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita that the embassies would open in two months' time.

There was no immediate confirmation of Lapid's remarks by Morocco.

Lapid's visit was the first by an Israeli foreign minister to Morocco since 2003, after the two countries agreed in December to resume diplomatic relations under a US-brokered deal.

Earlier on Thursday, Lapid inaugurated Israel's liaison office in Rabat and visited a synagogue in Casablanca.

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Lebanon Army Says 3 Troops Killed in Munitions Blast in South

A Lebanese army soldier and forensics experts inspect a burnt-out vehicle in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, after what the military called a munitions blast. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP
A Lebanese army soldier and forensics experts inspect a burnt-out vehicle in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, after what the military called a munitions blast. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP
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Lebanon Army Says 3 Troops Killed in Munitions Blast in South

A Lebanese army soldier and forensics experts inspect a burnt-out vehicle in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, after what the military called a munitions blast. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP
A Lebanese army soldier and forensics experts inspect a burnt-out vehicle in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, after what the military called a munitions blast. Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP

Lebanon's military said a munitions blast in the country's war-torn south killed an officer and two soldiers on Sunday, days after an explosion killed another soldier.
Under a November truce deal that ended a war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group's infrastructure there, said AFP.

"An army officer and two soldiers were killed and a number of citizens were injured due to an explosion of ammunition as it was being transported inside an army vehicle" in Braiqaa, in south Lebanon's Nabatiyeh district, an army statement said.

Specialized army units were investigating the circumstances of the incident, the statement added.

An AFP correspondent in Braiqaa, around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli border, saw several charred and burnt vehicles on the road, with some damage to nearby shops and flats.

The army had cordoned off the area.

President Joseph Aoun offered his condolences for the three servicemen "who fell while performing their mission to preserve security and stability" and to keep south Lebanon residents from harm, a presidency statement said.

On Monday, the army said a soldier was killed and three others wounded in an explosion in the country's south, where Aoun said they had been dismantling mines in a tunnel.
According to the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River. Israel was to withdraw all its forces but has kept troops in five places it deems "strategic".