A view of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) booth at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Center in Singapore, Feb. 20, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su

Morocco has struck a $1 billion deal with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to acquire an intelligence spy satellite from the Israeli defense company, Moroccan and other media reported this week, underscoring the strength of the Abraham Accords even in the midst of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The deal, which was reportedly finalized at the end of last year and signed earlier this week, will improve Morocco’s military defense capabilities. The satellite is expected to be delivered within five years and replace the Mohammed VI-A and Mohammed VI-B satellites currently used by Morocco.

Defense and economic cooperation between Israel and Morocco began in 2020 as a part of the Abraham Accords, which were a series of historic, US-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several countries in the Arab world. Sudan, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates also normalized relations with the Jewish state.

Prior to 2020, Egypt and Jordan were the only Arab countries to have peace agreements in place with Israel. Normalization expanded due to the belief that common economic, diplomatic, and security interests could become more important in Israeli-Arab relations than Israel’s political and territorial conflict with the Palestinians.

After the Israel-Hamas war began in October, however, analysts questioned whether the heightened regional tensions would cause the normalization agreements previously made to bend or break. While there has been some tension, they have remained intact, as evidenced by Israel and Morocco’s latest deal.

There have been other showings of significant cooperation even after the war erupted.

On Oct. 8, for example, the United Arab Emirates called Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel a “serious and grave escalation.” It said it was “appalled” by the fact Hamas that took hostages.

Then, more substantively, when Israel was attacked by Iran with hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles, a coalition of Arab countries helped Israel defend itself. Some countries that helped, such as Jordan, have a peace agreement with Israel but are not part of the Abraham Accords. Others, such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq, do not have normalized relations with Israel but aided in their defense anyway for the stabilization of the region. The United Arab Emirates also reportedly helped defend Israel against Iran’s attack.

A Hamas official suggested in an interview with Lebanon’s Annahar newspaper last month that the Palestinian terrorist group launched its Oct. 7 invasion in part to prevent Saudi Arabia from normalizing relations with Israel.

Before Oct. 7, the prospect of reaching a historic peace deal between the two longtime foes appeared possible. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said in an interview in September, weeks before the onslaught and ensuing war in Hamas-ruled Gaza, that “every day we get closer” to a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. As part of the process, Bin Salman hoped to “ease the life of the Palestinians” and seemed willing to shelve the issue of Palestinian statehood in favor of an agreement with the US on the use of nuclear material and a weapons deal.

While such conversations have reportedly resumed in recent weeks, Saudi officials have said a normalization deal must now include an “irreversible path” to Palestinian statehood, fearing backlash. According to reports, Bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, fears being branded a “traitor” to the Palestinian cause amid Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, potentially undermining the kingdom’s legitimacy as the leader of the Islamic world.

Many analysts have argued that Iran, which backs Hamas and is its chief international sponsor, intentionally torpedoed the Israel-Saudi normalization process with the Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish state.

Nonetheless, in recent weeks, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have reportedly said they are willing to participate in a security force in a post-war Gaza. At the same time, for this to happen, certain conditions — such as a complete Israeli withdrawal from the enclave — would have to be met.