عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Israel Recalls Morocco Envoy Amid Probe into ‘Disorderly Conduct’

Israel Recalls Morocco Envoy Amid Probe into ‘Disorderly Conduct’
TT
TT

Israel Recalls Morocco Envoy Amid Probe into ‘Disorderly Conduct’

Israel Recalls Morocco Envoy Amid Probe into ‘Disorderly Conduct’

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled two employees of its diplomatic corps amid probes into criminal offenses, including the chargé d’affaires at Israel’s liaison office in Rabat, David Govrin, and an employee at the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

Sources said that the two events were a major diplomatic scandal and an embarrassment to the Ministry, especially the issue of the ambassador.

They explained that Govrin's behavior led to anger among Moroccans leading to a protest demanding the embassy's closure.

The sources confirmed that suspicions about the envoy are linked to the "exploitation of Moroccan female employees in the embassy for sexual purposes, harassment and disorderly conduct."

Kan radio station in Tel Aviv reported that the Moroccan Foreign Ministry complained and submitted a file concerning Govrin's behavior, and a delegation from the Foreign Ministry was rushed to Rabat to investigate.

During the investigation, officials found evidence of sexual misconduct, financial exploitations, embezzlement, and the disappearance of a valuable gift he received from the King of Morocco, which was not registered nor handed to the government.

Diplomatic sources in Tel Aviv confirmed that the delegation returned Govrin to Israel and is currently facing a criminal investigation with the police that will destroy his position as a high-ranking diplomat.

They noted that Israel is now facing a serious diplomatic issue with the Moroccan public and that social media activists are attacking Israel and demanding the closure of the Israeli embassy.

According to the head of the Israel-Morocco Friendship Association, Shimon Abu Sakila, Govrin's behavior was unsurprising to Israelis residing in Morocco, as they had warned about it over the past year.

Govrin, 59, served as Israel's envoy to Cairo before being appointed ambassador to Rabat last year.

The second diplomatic scandal relates to a senior employee at the Israeli embassy in the UAE.

The diplomat is accused of stealing a valuable $6,000 gift, which was given to the ambassador and replaced with a simple watch.

According to Israeli law, such gifts are handed over to the Ministry, and the diplomat who receives them is allowed to keep them in rare cases and with official permission from the attorney general and the political leadership.

After the scandal, the employee was recalled to Israel and dismissed from the diplomatic corps.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

RSF Attack a City under Military Control in Central Sudan, Opening a New Front

Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)
Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)
TT
TT

RSF Attack a City under Military Control in Central Sudan, Opening a New Front

Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)
Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe's rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. (AP)

Fighting continued to rage between Sudan’s military and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a city in a central province, officials said Sunday, opening yet another front in a fourteen-month war that has pushed the African country to the brink of famine.

The RSF began its offensive on the Sennar province earlier this week, attacking the village of Jebal Moya before moving to the city of Singa, the provincial capital, authorities said, where fresh battles have erupted.

On Saturday, the group claimed in a statement it had seized the military’s main facility, the 17th Infantry Division Headquarters in Singa. Local media also reported the RSF managed to breach the military’s defense.

However, Brig. Nabil Abdalla, a spokesperson for the Sudanese armed forces, said the military regained control of the facility, and that fighting was still underway Sunday morning.

Neither claim could be independently verified.

According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, at least 327 households had to flee from Jebal Moya and Singa to safer areas.

“The situation remains tense and unpredictable,” it said in a statement.

The latest fighting in Sennar comes while almost all eyes are on al-Fasher, a major city in the sprawling region of Darfur that the RSF has besieged for months in an attempt to seize it from the military. Al-Fasher is the military's last stronghold in Darfur.

Sudan’s war began in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

The devastating conflict has killed more than 14,000 people and wounded 33,000 others, according to the United Nations, but rights activists say the toll could be much higher.

It created the world’s largest displacement crisis with over 11 million people forced to flee their homes. International experts warned Thursday that that 755,000 people are facing famine in the coming months, and that 8.5 million people are facing extreme food shortages.

The conflict has been marked by widespread reports of rampant sexual violence and other atrocities — especially in Darfur, the site of a genocide in the early 2000s. Rights groups say the atrocities amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.