A battery of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Photo: IDF.

i24 News – Morocco is interested in purchasing Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system to “better ensure defense of the sand wall in the Sahara, but also of civil and military zones of a sensitive nature,” according to a report from Moroccan digital news outlet Le Desk.

Israel uses the Iron Dome to prevent short-range rockets and artillery shells from landing in populated areas, with a success rate of around 90%.

The batteries and interceptors are developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.

The North African country normalized relations with Israel as part of last year’s US-brokered Abraham Accords. In exchange, the US recognized Morocco’s claims over Western Sahara.

Recently, Morocco has been involved in a dispute with its neighbor Algeria, who severed diplomatic ties in August.

Algeria backs the Polisario Front independence movement in the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Last week, Algeria accused Morocco of killing three Algerian civilians in Polisario-held territory of Western Sahara.

Speaking on Saturday, Morocco’s King Mohamed VI said that sovereignty over Western Sahara is “not negotiable.”

Rabat maintains a 1,700-mile (2,700 km) sand wall that runs through Western Sahara and southwestern Morocco to separate Moroccan-held areas from Polisario-controlled territory.