On December 30, 2020, the Trump administration announced that the United States would be opening a consulate in Western Sahara’s occupied territory. This comes in light of recent negotiations between the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco in regards to getting the latter to normalize relations with Israel officially.
According to a statement made by Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, the consulate’s development is officially underway. Pompeo Tweets:
Pleased to announce the beginning of the process to establish a U.S. consulate in Western Sahara, and the inauguration of a virtual presence post effective immediately! We look forward to promoting economic and social development, and to engage the people of this region.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) December 24, 2020
The Trump administration is putting considerable effort into bringing Arab states, which have historically been opposed to Israel, to the table to negotiate terms of normalization with Israel. For the most part, the states that have been secured include the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Bahrain, and now Morocco.
The moving of the United States from being a relatively neutral actor on the Western Sahara issue to being an active supporter of the occupying force has been condemned around the world. That being said, criticism is the only action taken by the international community on behalf of the Sahrawi people. Words, and the false promises in which they form, have been generously utilized by the international community for years. What is not utilized is action, at least not in favor of the people of Western Sahara. Effective action in international affairs seems to be reserved exclusively for matters which directly affect the major nations and the various power structures therein.
The Trump administration has a strategy for maintaining its international agreements even through changing administrations. The acknowledgment of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was not a mere declaration; it was followed by the immediate opening of a United States embassy in the city. This additional step would mean that the following administration would not only need to rescind the recognition; they would need to remove the embassy from the location physically. Such an action would naturally strain the United States’ relationship with Israel, and would do the same with Morocco should the Trump administration open a physical location in Occupied Dakhla, Western Sahara, followed by the Biden administration attempt to remove the United States consulate from Western Sahara.
As of yet, the Trump administration only has a virtual consulate in Dakhla. Although the citizens of Morocco generally support the Kingdom’s occupation of Western Sahara, the Moroccan populous at large are against any normalization effort with Israel. Even though many Moroccan citizens ignore the obvious likeness between the West Bank’s occupation and the occupation of Western Sahara, their government officially normalizing relations with Israel is seen as a bridge too far. This can be another reason why the Kingdom of Morocco is placing more media emphasis on the virtual opening of the US consulate in Dakhla over physically opening it.
The consulate’s virtual opening represents a subtle overture for the opening of relations with Israel, so to give the Moroccan people a moment to adjust to the terms being made between the countries, Morocco, Israel, and the United States.