On February 3, 2017, a Saharavi man holds a flag in front of a police force in the Al-Mahbaz area near the Moroccan army guarding the wall separating the Policario-controlled Western Sahara from Morocco. STRINGER / Getty Images The historic death toll from the COVID -19 epidemic, not to mention his efforts to overturn last month’s election results, came as a bit of a surprise as President Trump tweeted about the most dramatic change in US policy in the world’s longest running and most neglected conflicts: today, the West I signed the Declaration recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. Morocco’s radical, credible and realistic autonomy proposal is the only basis for a lasting and lasting solution to maintain peace and prosperity! – Donald J. Trump (realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2020 Today is another historic breakthrough! Our two great friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations – a massive advance for peace in the Middle East! – Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2020 Morocco recognizes the United States in 1777. We recognize their sovereignty over the Western Sahara. — Donald J. Trump (realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2020 What’s going on here? As the second tweet points out, this is a bizarre bias in return for Morocco agreeing to normalize relations with Israel. The Trump administration is seeking to get as many Arab countries as possible to recognize the Jewish state before January 20, and has made it clear that it is prepared to be very generous to those who do so. The United Arab Emirates has won a $ 23 billion arms deal, and Sudan has been removed from state sponsors’ terrorist list. Western Sahara is clearly the price of Morocco. Diplomatically, this is a big deal: no other country currently formally recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over what the United Nations considers a “sovereign territory.” Although this is not the first time the US has soaked up the measurements in favor of Morocco. The least populated area on the northwest coast of Africa was ruled by Spain as the Sahara of Spain until 1976. In the early 1970s, an armed left-wing pro-independence movement called the Policario Front was formed to fight against Spanish rule. Although it is clear that Spain’s days were numbered in the area, both neighboring Morocco and Mauritania gained historical rights over the area. The 1975 ruling of the International Court of Justice rejected those claims and ruled that the local people – the Sahrawis should determine their sovereignty. Nevertheless, later that year Spain signed an agreement to supply two-thirds of the north to Morocco and one-third of the south to Mauritania. . Policario rejected these agreements, declaring independence the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which today is formally recognized by 80 countries and is a member of the African Union. Morocco sent troops, starting a war and lasting until 1991, when the UN. Arbitration ceasefire agreement signed. Under the terms of that ceasefire, a referendum on the final status of the territory was to be held within a year, but it has not yet taken place. Today, 85 percent of the territory is under Moroccan control. On the other side of a large artificial sand wall known as the “perm” is the Polysario region, although the majority of the population under the control of the group live in infiltration camps in Algeria. The American volunteer charity Independence House is one of the lowest free places on earth in Western Sahara. In areas controlled by Morocco, pro-independence sentiment is violently suppressed, and imprisonment and torture of activists are common. Policario did not overestimate that front: it was the only political party allowed in the controlled areas and was accused of capturing and torturing Moroccan soldiers for decades. Although the United States initially supported Morocco, it has been very neutral in the conflict since the signing of the ceasefire agreement, and has at times criticized its human rights practices. However, the United States did not interfere in the strong security relationship between Washington and Rabat, first during the Cold War and later during the war on terror. Last year, Morocco was the largest customer for US weapons in the Middle East-North Africa region. Trump’s announcement comes at a critical time for the conflict: In November, the Moroccan military launched an operation in the United Nations patrol buffer zone, prompting Policario to announce a “resumption of the armed struggle.” A police spokesman on Thursday described Trump’s announcement as “strange but not surprising”, saying it would “not change an inch of the reality of the conflict and the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination.” Most of the countries that recognize Sahrawi independence are in Africa, and it also has the support of Cuba and some of its left-wing allies. The Arab states support Morocco’s position, although they do not formally recognize its sovereignty over the region. Over the years, the conflict has escalated into diplomatic ambiguity and has not received much international attention, which may be one reason why Trump has realized that this is not a big deal. But his decision puts the United States outside of international consensus and is in violation of international law based on the 1975 ICJ decision. Is it time for Diane Feinstein to resign? Trump’s judiciary is investigating Hunter Biden’s taxes Whistleblowers say Judge orders that armed Mexicans were smuggled into the United States to provide security for the construction of the border wall were split by 12 votes in the New York Congress race. Whether or not Trump thought deeply about this decision fits a similar logic to how he approached regional conflicts in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump described his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as nothing more or less than recognition of reality. Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo similarly described the decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty for the Golan Heights as acknowledging “reality on the ground.” By this logic, practical military control violates international law or legitimacy. (Trump is said to have used a similar logic to Russian control of Crimea in talks with other world leaders, but the administration has not yet gone so far as to change the US position there.) President Elect Joe Biden has indicated support for efforts to normalize relations. There may be less interest in the bizarre dependencies that went with those efforts, between Israel and the Arab states. Management wants to at least reconsider arms sales in the UAE. Biden declined to comment on whether the administration would change Trump’s new stance on the Western Sahara. For Morocco, normalizing relations with Israel is often a symbolic gesture. The close economic and political relations between the two countries have been an open secret for many years. However, the rift in international consensus in the 50-year search for control of the Western Sahara was a major diplomatic victory. Readers like you make our work possible. 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