Morocco’s Former Socialist Prime Minister Dies at 96

Moroccan former Prime Minister, Abderrahmane el-Youssoufi (AFP)
Moroccan former Prime Minister, Abderrahmane el-Youssoufi (AFP)
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Morocco’s Former Socialist Prime Minister Dies at 96

Moroccan former Prime Minister, Abderrahmane el-Youssoufi (AFP)
Moroccan former Prime Minister, Abderrahmane el-Youssoufi (AFP)

Moroccan former Prime Minister and socialist leader Abderrahmane el-Youssoufi died on Friday in Casablanca at the age of 96 following a prolonged illness.

Youssoufi was known for being the first opposition figure to peacefully join the authority when he led Morocco’s government of “consensual succession” between 1998 and 2002 during King Hassan II’s ruling.

First Secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Driss Lachgar, announced with great sorrow the death of Youssoufi to all federations and the general public.

For his part, Prime Minister Saad-Eddine el-Othmani described Youssoufi as a “political and national leader".

Othmani tweeted that he received the news of Youssoufi’s death with great sadness, offering his sincere condolences to his family and the whole nation.

Throughout his life, the late PM was greatly appreciated by the royal palace and the various Moroccan political circles.

Several politicians and activists paid tribute to the iconic man who had dedicated his life to defending Morocco’s working class and fighting for human rights.

Youssoufi was born in Tangier on March 8, 1924, and joined the national movement and became a member of the Independence Party at only the age of 19, as he fought for a free Morocco.

Between 1959 and 1965, Youssoufi was the editor-in-chief of the Attahrir newspaper, and served as Secretary-General of the USFP between 1995 and 2002.

In 2003, Youssoufi withdrew from politics after King Mohammed VI appointed technocrat Driss Jettou as prime minister, despite USFP winning the elections.

Youssoufi warned it was “contrary to the democratic methodology.”

Even after he retired from politics, Youssoufi remained in contact with King Mohammed VI, who kept inviting him to royal events and some official meetings with common friends or even the King’s family.

In March 2018, Youssoufi published his memoirs which details his political career, including the resistance and the country’s post-independence era.

The book features Youssoufi’s speeches and interviews and traces his long political life, his years of struggle in the national movements, including The National Union of Popular Forces (UNFP), and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, in addition to his alternating participation and withdrawal from politics.

Last July, during the 20th anniversary of his coronation, King Mohammed VI honored Youssoufi by naming the 2019 cohort of graduating military recruits after him.

“I have decided to name this year’s Group of Graduates after Mr. Abderrahmane Youssoufi, who shares with my late father, His Majesty King Hassan II, and with me, the same unwavering principles: Love for the homeland and a strong commitment to the nation’s sacred values, to the Kingdom’s territorial integrity and the defense of its best interests,” announced King Mohammed VI.



Hamas Says Ready to Free All Hostages at Once in Gaza Truce Phase Two

The sun sets behind heavily damaged residential buildings in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 17, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
The sun sets behind heavily damaged residential buildings in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 17, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Hamas Says Ready to Free All Hostages at Once in Gaza Truce Phase Two

The sun sets behind heavily damaged residential buildings in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 17, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
The sun sets behind heavily damaged residential buildings in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 17, 2025, as people return to northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Hamas signaled on Wednesday that it was willing to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in a single swap during the next phase of an ongoing ceasefire.  

Israel and Hamas are currently in the process of implementing phase one of the fragile truce, which has held since taking effect on January 19 despite accusations of violations on both sides.  

Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday that talks would begin "this week" on the second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to the war.

"We have informed the mediators that Hamas is ready to release all hostages in one batch during the second phase of the agreement, rather than in stages as in the current first phase," senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP.

He did not clarify how many hostages were currently being held by Hamas or other armed groups.  

Nunu said this step was meant "to confirm our seriousness and complete readiness to move forward in resolving this issue, as well as to continue steps towards cementing the ceasefire and achieving a sustainable truce".  

Under the ceasefire's first phase, 19 Israeli hostages have been released so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails in a series of Red Cross-mediated swaps.  

Wednesday's offer came after Israel and Hamas announced a deal for the return of all six remaining living hostages eligible for release under phase one in a single swap this weekend.  

Hamas also agreed on Tuesday to return the bodies of eight dead hostages in two groups this week and next.  

After the completion of the first phase, 58 hostages will remain in Gaza.  

The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said on Wednesday that it would release the body of Israeli hostage Oded Lifshitz on Thursday. The group said Lifshitz was one of the hostages killed during Israeli strikes on Gaza.  

- 'Room to pressure Hamas' -  

Muhammad Shehada, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that after more than a year of devastating Israeli assault in Gaza, "Hamas wants to prevent the war resuming at any cost", albeit with some "red lines".  

"And one of those red lines is that they should continue to exist, basically, whereas (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's position is that they should dismantle themselves," he said.  

Since the start of the war, Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas's capacity to fight or govern, something the group has rejected.  

But the appearance that Washington is now in complete alignment with Netanyahu's government, as displayed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit this week, strengthened the Israeli premier's hand in negotiations, according to Michael Horowitz, an expert at the risk management consultancy Le Beck International.  

It gives Netanyahu "more room to pressure Hamas", Horowitz said, adding that US President Donald Trump "prefers that the agreement moves forward, but he's leaving the field open to Netanyahu... as long as the ceasefire is maintained".  

- 'Held onto hope' -

Among the bodies Hamas said it would hand over on Thursday are those of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel, who have become national symbols in Israel of the hostages' ordeal.  

The boys' father Yarden Bibas was taken hostage separately on October 7, 2023, and was released alive during an earlier hostage-prisoner swap.  

While Hamas said Shiri Bibas and her boys were killed in an Israeli air strike early in the war, Israel has never confirmed this, and many supporters remain unconvinced of their deaths, including members of the Bibas family.  

"I ask that no one eulogize my family just yet. We have held onto hope for 16 months, and we are not giving up now," the boys' aunt, Ofri Bibas, wrote on Facebook late Tuesday following Hamas's announcement.  

Israeli authorities have confirmed that the remains of four hostages are due to be returned on Thursday, although they have not officially named them.  

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has acted as go-between in the exchanges, called for a respectful handover of the hostages' remains.  

"We once again call for all releases to be conducted in a private and dignified manner, including when they tragically involve the deceased," it said.  

Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, of whom 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.  

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.  

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,297 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.  

Since the war began, Israeli forces have detained hundreds of Gazans, some of whom have been released in previous rounds of hostage-prisoner exchanges.