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Algeria ‘Targeted’ in Gantz’s Visit to Morocco

Salah Goudjil speaks after being elected speaker of the upper house of parliament, or Senate, in Algiers, on February 24, 2021. (Fateh Guidoum/AP)
Salah Goudjil speaks after being elected speaker of the upper house of parliament, or Senate, in Algiers, on February 24, 2021. (Fateh Guidoum/AP)
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Algeria ‘Targeted’ in Gantz’s Visit to Morocco

Salah Goudjil speaks after being elected speaker of the upper house of parliament, or Senate, in Algiers, on February 24, 2021. (Fateh Guidoum/AP)
Salah Goudjil speaks after being elected speaker of the upper house of parliament, or Senate, in Algiers, on February 24, 2021. (Fateh Guidoum/AP)

Head of the Algerian Senate said Thursday that his country was “targeted” by the visit of Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz to Morocco, during which both countries signed a security cooperation agreement.

“The enemies are mobilizing more and more to undermine Algeria,” which is “targeted” by this visit, Algeria’s official news agency, APS, quoted Salah Goudjil as saying.

“Today, things become clear when we see the Minister of Defense of the Zionist entity visiting a neighboring country, after the one carried out by Minister of Foreign Affairs of this entity, from where he threatened Algeria,” Goudjil added, referring to Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

Morocco and Israel signed on Wednesday a security agreement that would facilitate Rabat’s access to Israeli military technology.

The visit sparked condemnations in Algerian media.

“What Israel did not do with Egypt and Jordan in 43 years and 27 years of relations respectively, Israel is currently doing with Morocco after only 11 months of normalizing ties,” wrote the online news site, Tout sur l’Algerie.

“This step further towards a compromise... opens the way for the Israeli Mossad to put both feet on the western border of Algeria, with all the threat that this implies to the security of Maghreb,” said the daily L’Expression.

In August, Algeria announced cutting diplomatic relations with Morocco for carrying out “hostile actions.”

Morocco and Algeria have long accused one another of backing opposition movements as proxies, with Algeria's support for separatists in the disputed region of Western Sahara a particular bone of contention for Morocco.

Since a ceasefire with the Polisario in 1991, Morocco has controlled around 80 percent of the Western Sahara, where it has poured investment into development projects.

The Algerian-backed Polisario continues to call for a referendum on self-determination, according to the 1991 UN-backed ceasefire deal.

Last year the administration of then-US president Donald Trump recognized Rabat’s sovereignty over Western Sahara as a quid pro quo for Morocco normalizing ties with Israel.

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Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is unwilling to pursue peace in Syria and warned that Israel’s efforts to spread war across the Middle East are undermining the environment fostered by the Astana Process.

Fidan emphasized the importance of Russian and Iranian efforts within the framework of the Astana Process to maintain calm on the ground, pointing to ongoing consultations with the US regarding the Syrian crisis.

Speaking during a parliamentary session discussing the 2025 budget of the Foreign Ministry, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s expectation that the dialogue proposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be approached strategically by the Syrian government, with priority given to the interests of the Syrian people.

Regarding Erdogan’s invitation to Assad for a meeting to discuss the normalization of ties between Ankara and Damascus, Fidan remarked that the matter depends on political will, stressing that the Turkish president has demonstrated his readiness at the highest level.

Last week, Erdogan reiterated the possibility of a meeting with Assad, but Russia, which mediates the normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus, ruled out such a meeting or high-level engagements in the near future.

Russian Presidential Envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev attributed the impasse to Türkiye’s refusal to meet Damascus’ demand for a withdrawal from northern Syria, accusing Ankara of acting as an “occupying state”.

Although Türkiye has not officially responded to Lavrentiev’s comments, which reflect a shift in Russia’s stance, Fidan stated in a televised interview last week that Russia remains “somewhat neutral” regarding the normalization process. He also urged the Syrian government to create conditions for the return of 10 million Syrian refugees.

Türkiye maintains that its military presence in northern Syria prevents the country’s division, blocks the establishment of a “terror corridor” along its southern border, and deters new waves of refugees from entering its territory.

Fidan outlined his country’s key objectives in Syria, which include eradicating terrorist groups (such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Syrian Democratic Forces), preserving Syria’s territorial unity, advancing the political process, and ensuring the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, Turkish artillery targeted villages and positions controlled by the Manbij Military Council, affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whose main component is the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

On Friday, fierce clashes erupted between the Syrian National Army factions and the SDF in western Tel Abyad, northern Raqqa. Simultaneously, Turkish artillery strikes reportedly killed two SDF members and injured others, with reports of captives and missing personnel.

In retaliation, the SDF shelled Turkish bases in the Ain Issa countryside. Turkish forces responded by deploying military reinforcements amid heightened alert at their bases in Raqqa’s countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).