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MoroccoÌýhas extradited a Palestinian from the 1948 territories—a holder of an Israeli passport—to Israel, despite warnings from local rights groupsÌýabout potential human rights violations.

Nassim Khalibat, 21, who is suspected of being involved in the 2021 bombing of the Nazareth Health Ministry, was handed over to Israeli authorities earlier this week, Israeli police confirmed in a on X on 18 December. Ìý

According to Israeli authorities, the case dates back to late 2021, when Khalibat and two accomplices—one allegedly a relative—apparently planted and remotely detonated a bomb outside a health ministry office in Nazareth.

While the explosion reportedly destroyed the building's façade, Khalibat managed to escape, but his alleged co-conspirators were arrested in March 2022. The motives behind the bombing remain unclear. Ìý

Khalibat's journey allegedly spanned Dubai, Turkey, and finally Morocco, where he was apprehended in January 2023 based on a Red Notice issued by Interpol. Ìý

In a post published on X, the Israeli police celebrated the extradition as the first operation of its kind, carried out through cooperation between its "Intelligence Division, the Air Unit, the Northern YAMAR Unit, and with assistance from the International Division of the Attorney General's Office."

Khalibat's lawyer, Nick Kaufman, told Israeli media that his client endured "harsh conditions" in Moroccan detention and agreed to the extradition at the first opportunity to prove his innocence. Ìý

However, the extradition has sparked further criticism of Rabat's growing ties with Israel—a relationship that has faced growing scrutiny since it was made in 2020 under a US-brokered deal.

The genocidal war by Israel on Gaza has deepened dissatisfaction with the relationship, prompting even former defenders of the deal to call for cutting all ties with Israel and closing its liaison office in Rabat. Ìý

Possible violations of international and domestic laws

For many, Morocco's decision raises questions about its balancing act between strengthening ties with Israel and upholding support for the Palestinian cause– a promise Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita made in November when he defended the normalisation accord.

The Moroccan League for Human Rights argues that Khalibat's extradition violates Morocco's penal code and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Rabat ratified in 1993. Ìý

The group contends that Khalibat's political, religious, and racial identity, combined with the likelihood of torture in Israeli prisons, qualifies him for protection under international law. Ìý

Amid mounting criticism, Morocco's state news agency MAP published an interview with an unnamed official explaining the extradition process. Ìý

The official stated that once Interpol's Red Notices are disseminated to member states, they become enforceable and carry legal weight in Morocco under Article 729 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Ìý

The source also emphasised that Khalibat identified himself as an Israeli citizen and never declared any other nationality. Ìý

"The proceedings in Khalibat's case were handled within this legal framework and based on the crimes attributed to him in the Red Notice issued by Interpol," the official explained, but didn't address the claims of Khalibat's lawyer regarding the harsh detention conditions in Morocco.

The source further revealed that Khalibat's case is not the first extradition between Rabat and Tel Aviv.

"In 2022, Morocco extradited two individuals to Israel in separate cases involving charges of murder and attempted murder," added a by MAP.