Palestine–Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic relations explained

Official relations between the two countries of Palestine and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara) do not exist, being as neither country is fully recognised internationally. Despite this, there are informal connections.^[1]

History and modern relations

Both nations have an Arab majority. The future founder of Polisario Front, El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed, used to meet Palestinian leaders during 1970s in Lebanon,^[2] in which he was influenced by the Israeli occupation. Fearing a future Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, the Polisario Front was established, in a similar format to the Palestine Liberation Front.^[3] The flag of Western Sahara draws from the flag of Palestine. The influence of the Sahrawi independence movement draws a level of sympathy toward Sahrawis among Palestinians.^[4]

George Habash, one of the founders of Palestine's PLO, met with Brahim Ghali in 1979 and indicated solidarity with the Western Saharan cause. Both countries share similar styles of struggling, including conducting guerrilla warfare, against both Israel and Morocco.^[5]

In recent years, fears of growing Palestinian–Sahrawi contact prompted the Moroccan authorities to censor them, allying with a number of groups that opposed any alliance. In 2016, the Palestinian Solidarity Committee with Western Sahara was banned from entering Gaza by Hamas.

The 2020 Israel–Morocco normalization agreement later laid speculations on deepening future relations between Palestine and the SADR, amidst censorship.

2023 Israel–Hamas war

On 10 October 2023, the Polisario Front expressed support for the Palestinian people.^[6] On 15 October, Sahrawi Ambassador to Algeria, Abdelkader Taleb Omar, met with the PFLP political representative to Algeria, Nader Qaisi, at the Sahrawi Embassy in Algiers.^[7] SADR was among the countries that condemned Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Western Sahara and Palestine: A Comparative Study of Colonialisms, Occupations, and Nationalisms. June 15, 2011. March 31, 2019. April 4, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190404130114/http://www.brismes.ac.uk/nmes/archives/321. dead.
2. Web site: Palestinian-Sahrawi solidarity trumped by Morocco-Hamas power politics, campaigners allege. Habibulah Mohamed. Lamin. alaraby.
3. Web site: Polisario. The Palestine Poster Project Archives.
4. Web site: United Nations Report: Morocco's Occupation of Western Sahara Parallels Israel and Palestine. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.
5. Book: Politics of Terrorism: A Survey. 9781136833366. Tan. Andrew TH. 2010-10-18.
6. Web site: October 10, 2023 . Polisario reaffirms its determination to continue struggle until right to self-determination is restored . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231014082659/https://new.spsrasd.info/en/depeche/polisario-reaffirms-its-determination-continue-struggle-until-right-self-determination . October 14, 2023 . October 10, 2023 . Sahara Press Service . en . Evoking the serious developments in Palestine, the Permanent Bureau of the Polisario Front reaffirmed the solidarity of the Sahrawi people with the Palestinian people..
7. Web site: October 15, 2023 . Sahrawi ambassador to Algeria receives political representative of Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231017182721/https://www.spsrasd.info/en/depeche/sahrawi-ambassador-algeria-receives-political-representative-popular-front-liberation . October 17, 2023 . October 15, 2023 . Sahara Press Service . en.
8. Web site: October 18, 2023 . Sahrawi government and Polisario Front strongly condemn the deliberate attack on Gaza hospital . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231018192735/https://www.spsrasd.info/en/depeche/sahrawi-government-and-polisario-front-strongly-condemn-deliberate-attack-gaza-hospital . October 18, 2023 . October 18, 2023 . Sahara Press Service . en.