Israel said on Wednesday Algeria should focus on its own problems a day after Algiers severed ties with Morocco, the latest Arab nation to normaliזe relations with the Jewish state.
Algeria said Tuesday it had cut diplomatic relations with Morocco because of "hostile actions", following months of resurgent tensions between the North African rivals.
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Moroccan security forces stand guard as Moroccan farmers protest in the city of Figuig after Algerian authorities expelled date farmers from the Algerian territory in March
(Photo: AFP)
Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra also accused Israel's foreign minister of "senseless accusations and veiled threats", after Yair Lapid expressed "worries about the role played by Algeria in the region".
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A Man in Algiers reads a newspaper reporting on Foreign Minister Matane Lamamra announcing that relations with Morocco had been severed
(Photo: AFP)
On his first visit to Morocco since the countries normalized ties, Lapid said his concerns were based on fears that Algeria was "getting close to Iran", as well as "the campaign it waged against the admission of Israel as an observer member of the African Union".
On Wednesday, an Israeli diplomatic source called Lamamra's allegations "unfounded and without interest -- they bring nothing new".
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Foreign Minister Yair Lapid during his meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita during his visit to Rabat earlier this month
(Photo: EPA)
"Algeria should focus on its own problems, serious economic problems especially, so its citizens can live the life they deserve, rather than trying to harm their neighbor and involve Israel in its disputes," the source told AFP.
"What matters are the very good relations between Israel and Morocco."