Three Blows to Moroccan Regime: European, American, and French Justice Shake Throne

The first and most consequential setback came from the European Court of Justice, which invalidated the fishing agreement between Morocco and the European Union. After a four-year legal battle spearheaded by the Sahrawi Arab Republic, the court’s ruling marked a landmark victory, halting the exploitation of Sahrawi resources and dismantling Morocco’s narrative of sovereignty over Western Sahara. This legal defeat underscores Morocco’s failed efforts to present itself as the legitimate ruler of the disputed territory, nullifying the supportive stances of key European countries such as France and Spain on the matter.

The ruling carries profound implications, signaling that the looting of Sahrawi resources under the guise of international agreements is no longer legally permissible. With this decision, any future agreements attempting to exploit Sahrawi wealth will be rendered void, regardless of the parties involved. Anticipating such a legal outcome, European governments refrained from renewing the fishing deal when it expired in July 2023, fully aware of its shaky legal foundations.

The second blow came from the U.S. government, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a carefully phrased yet significant statement during a press conference with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in New York. Blinken made it clear that the U.S. does not recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, referring to Morocco’s autonomy proposal as merely “one potential approach” among others. His remarks conveyed that the issue remains unresolved and reaffirmed Washington’s support for UN-led efforts, under Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura, to reach a political solution that aligns with the aspirations of the Sahrawi people. This public statement dealt a crushing blow to Morocco’s aspirations of securing American backing for its claims over the occupied Sahrawi territories.

The third and final strike came from the French judiciary, where Morocco faced a significant defeat in the ongoing Pegasus spyware scandal. Moroccan intelligence had been accused of deploying the Zionist-made spyware to hack the phones of high-profile individuals across France, Spain, Belgium, and the European Parliament. After filing defamation lawsuits against the French investigative outlet Mediapart, which played a key role in exposing the scandal, the Moroccan state saw its case dismissed. The French court sided with Mediapart, confirming Morocco’s involvement in the illegal spying and ordering the regime to cover the newspaper’s legal expenses. Edwy Plenel, founder of Mediapart, announced the ruling on social media, underscoring Morocco’s legal and moral defeat in this highly sensitive case.

These three successive blows—delivered from Brussels, Washington, and Paris—could not have come at a more pivotal moment. They coincide with the first anniversary of the Zionist entity’s brutal aggression against Palestinians in Gaza and Lebanon, a war in which Morocco is widely seen as complicit through its deepening ties with the Zionist entity. As these legal and diplomatic defeats mount, the Moroccan regime faces growing domestic dissent, with protests against its betrayal of the Palestinian cause gaining momentum.