RABAT, Morocco (Dispatches) – Tens of thousands of Moroccans on Sunday protested the Zionist regime’s latest onslaught in Gaza, putting fury toward U.S. President Donald Trump near the center of their grievances.
In the largest protest Morocco has seen in months, demonstrators denounced the occupying regime, the United States and their own government. Some stepped on the Zionist regime’s flags, held banners showing martyred Hamas leaders and waved posters juxtaposing Trump alongside displaced Palestinians fleeing their homes.
Organizers condemned the Zionist regime’s ongoing military operation in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the regime renewed air and ground strikes last month, aimed at pressuring Hamas to release remaining captives.
Such protests have erupted across the Middle East and North Africa, where leaders typically worry about demonstrations undermining domestic stability. Pro-Palestinian rallies were also staged this weekend in the capitals of Tunisia and Yemen as well as in Morocco’s most populous city Casablanca.
In countries that have historically aligned with the U.S., anti-Trump backlash has emerged as a theme. Demonstrators in Rabat on Sunday condemned his proposal to displace millions of Palestinians to make way for the redevelopment of Gaza, as well as the U.S. efforts to pursue pro-Palestinian activists.
Still, many Moroccans said they saw Trump’s policies as mostly consistent with his predecessor, Joe Biden’s.
“(Trump) has made the war worse,” said Mohammed Toussi, who travelled from Casablanca with his family to protest.
“Biden hid some things but Trump has shown it all,” he added, likening their positions but not their messaging.
Protestors, Toussi said, remain angry about Morocco’s 2020 decision to normalize ties with the Zionist regime.
Abdelhak El Arabi, an adviser to Morocco’s former prime minister, said the reasons Moroccans were protesting had grown throughout the war. He predicted popular anger would continue until the war ends.
“It’s not a war, Gaza is getting erased from the earth,” the 62-year-old Tamesna resident said.
Demonstrations have included a range of groups, including the Islamic association al Adl Wal Ihsan. Moroccan authorities tolerate most protests, but have arrested some activists who have rallied in front of businesses or foreign embassies or implicated the monarchy in their complaints.