Israel defense chief jets to Morocco to cement security ties

By ILAN BEN ZION
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s defense minister is heading to Morocco for an official visit to cement security ties between the two countries ahead of the one-year anniversary of their agreement to establish formal relations. Benny Gantz will be making the first official visit by an Israeli defense minister on Tuesday to one of the four Arab states that agreed to normalize ties under the so-called Abraham Accords last year. During the visit, Gantz is slated to meet his Moroccan counterpart and sign an agreement that would lay the foundations for “formalizing defense relations between the countries.” That’s according to an Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press ahead of the trip.