Algeria's announcement this week that it was severing its diplomatic ties with Morocco came as no surprise — Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had issued a statement Aug. 18 saying relations with Morocco were being reviewed. Still, the depth of accusations Algeria leveled against Israel Aug. 24 did surprise Jerusalem.
More than the Palestinian issue, the Algerian anger against the Israeli-Moroccan rapprochement was fueled by the American recognition of Moroccan sovereignty of Western Sahara. .... Algeria has been supporting the Western Sahara independence movement Polisario for decades, and the new triple Israeli-American-Moroccan consensus on Western Sahara was perceived by Algeria as especially hostile.
Recently, Algeria accused Morocco of complicity in deadly forest fires where 90 people were killed. According to Algerian authorities, the fires were of criminal origin..."particularly the MAK, which receives the support and aid of foreign parties ... Morocco and the Zionist entity."
Algerian anger was further fueled by the Aug. 12 visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to Morocco. During that visit, Lapid expressed concerns over signs of rapprochement between Algeria and Iran. Algeria was furious over this statement, as clearly expressed in the Aug. 24 declaration by Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra. “Morocco has turned its territory into a platform allowing foreign powers to speak with hostility about Algeria. … Since 1948, no Israeli official made a hostile declaration to an Arab country from another Arab country,’’ said Lamamra.