The King, Mossad, and the Revolution: Did Morocco Betray the Secrets of the National Liberation Front?

In the winter of 1960, the Rabat palace was bustling with silent movements. Behind thick walls adorned with Moroccan gold and political anxiety, an unusual meeting took place between King Hassan II and high-ranking envoys from the Israeli occupation intelligence agency, Mossad. This meeting, as later revealed by the French writer and journalist Catherine Graciet, was not merely a diplomatic courtesy between parties seeking secret balances in the Middle East. Rather, as described in her acclaimed 2012 book Le roiprédateur (The Predator King), published by Seuil, it was part of a “secret alliance with Tel Aviv, established to exchange sensitive information, which included — among other things — matters related to the Algerian revolution.”

Graciet, who spent years tracing the threads of Moroccan-Zionist relations alongside investigative journalist Éric Laurent, confirmed in the same book that some of the information passed from Morocco to Mossad subsequently reached French intelligence, constituting one of the most complex intelligence cooperation networks in the Mediterranean basin during the twentieth century.

At that time, the Algerian revolution had reached its peak, and the National Liberation Front (FLN) possessed an active diplomatic and military structure across the borders. Morocco, the neighboring state, was an inevitable refuge for the revolutionaries, as well as a domain for their political and logistical movements. Yet amid this dynamic, a terrifying question emerged in the corridors of politics and intelligence: Were there other eyes watching the revolutionaries’ movements from within Moroccan territory? And did some of the FLN’s secrets pass through secret channels from Rabat to Tel Aviv, then on to Paris?

Such a question not only stirs the dust of politics but also opens doors to an unwritten history and a complicity that could reshape our understanding of the “Maghreb friendship” equation during an era when betrayal was cloaked in mediation, and espionage wore the mantle of protection.

Report by: Aminasmatti

When Did the Intersection of Rabat with Paris and Tel Aviv Begin?

The nature of the relationship that linked the emerging Moroccan regime with the Zionist entity cannot be understood without tracing back to the years preceding Morocco’s formal independence. Since the late 1940s, the Moroccan royal palace—under the leadership of Mohammed V and later his crown prince Hassan II—sought to build international alliances that would guarantee the throne’s survival and strengthen its position both domestically and internationally, even if this came at the expense of core Arab causes.

The earliest documented indications of this relationship date back to 1959, when Shimon Peres, one of the prominent figures of the Zionist establishment, revealed in his memoirs published by SchockenBooks in 1995 that “Morocco had always been open to cooperation, especially with those who understood its security interests.” This phrase, albeit ambiguous, refers in context to what Peres described as “quiet discussions” held with Moroccan officials regarding the future of North Africa after Algeria’s independence.

In the same vein, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an extensive report on September 18, 2016, detailing secret cooperation between Morocco and Mossad. The report relied on testimonies from former officers of the agency, most notably Shmuel Goren, who led coordination operations in North Africa. According to the report, “Rabat considered cooperation with Tel Aviv as a strategic card to establish a balance with Cairo and Algiers, which had adopted a revolutionary discourse and embraced the Palestine Liberation Organization.”

However, the most significant turning point was the secret “Avion” summit held in 1960, which brought together Moroccan officials and representatives of Zionist intelligence in a small Turkish town. This was reported by Le Monde Diplomatique in 2005, based on declassified French documents. According to the newspaper, this summit constituted the actual starting point of the tripartite coordination between Morocco, the Zionist entity, and France.

At the heart of this equation was Algeria—not absent but rather the ever-present absent entity in all meetings—since, according to the same report, the defeat of its revolution would mean the continuation of Morocco as a “moderate” ally, France as a dominant colonial power, and the Zionist entity as a reliable security partner in the region.

Where Was the National Liberation Front? The Revolution’s Activity and Infiltration in Morocco

Since the outbreak of the Algerian Liberation Revolution in November 1954, Morocco has constituted a vital strategic point in supporting the National Liberation Front (FLN), particularly after its independence in 1956. Moroccan territory served as a logistical and political platform for the revolution, with FLN offices established in Rabat, Oujda, and other border areas such as Figuig and BeniDrar.

According to a detailed study published by Algerian historian Abdel RahmanMohammedi in his book The Algerian Revolution in the Memory of Morocco (Dar Al-Wataniya for Publishing, 2010), this concentration provided indispensable support but remained surrounded by a network of security surveillance and political risks.

Documents from the French Ministry of Defense archives (released in 2012, file DCE/ALG/4531) indicate that French authorities closely monitored these revolutionary bases in Morocco and considered them a strategic threat no less significant than the direct battlefronts in Algeria.

Furthermore, an investigative report published by the French newspaper Le Monde on March 10, 2015, revealed that Moroccan intelligence agencies were well-informed about revolutionary activities within their borders. Some sources even suggested that these agencies may have colluded in surveilling certain activists.

Similarly, French researcher Thomas Laurent noted in his article published in the International Journal of North African Studies (2018) the existence of “dual infiltrations of FLN networks in Morocco, conducted by both local and foreign agents, resulting in the leakage of critical information to France and the Zionist entity.”

This complex scenario raises urgent questions about the extent to which France and the Zionists benefited from this security entanglement within Moroccan territory and how significantly it affected the course of the Algerian revolution.

The Zionist Occupation’s Eye in the Heart of Morocco

Deep within Rabat, far from the public eye, the Israeli occupation’s Mossad operated as a shadowy presence—observing, gathering, and transmitting intelligence. The Mossad’s presence in Morocco was not a mere transient espionage maneuver but rather a complex network of spying and coordination with Moroccan intelligence agencies, serving the French agenda and its objectives to suppress the Algerian revolution.

According to a classified intelligence report partially published in Le roiprédateur by French journalist Jean-Luc Cherbuliez (ÉditionsGrasset, 2015), Mossad established an advanced espionage network within Morocco used to relay sensitive information regarding the movements of the National Liberation Front (FLN). The book notes that “Rabat was a vital transit point where information was systematically transferred from Morocco to Tel Aviv, then forwarded to Paris to coordinate security responses.”

This network was not merely an official collaboration but intertwined with secret deals and deeper political interests. As detailed in an investigative report published by the French newspaper Le Point (April 15, 2017), Morocco did not limit itself to cooperation but leveraged its relations with Mossad to strike at its regional adversaries, foremost among them the Algerian revolution.

Observers are well aware that Rabat employed this partnership to consolidate its regional influence, but the price was steep: missing critical opportunities to support the Algerian revolution, which had expected unwavering backing instead met with covert security betrayals.

Israeli researcher Richard Cohen further confirmed in his article in Middle East Quarterly (2018) that “Mossad’s networks in Morocco were among the most efficient in tracking FLN activities and provided France with sensitive intelligence that contributed to targeting revolutionary leaders.”

All of this raises an inescapable question: Was the Algerian revolution a dual victim—not only of its direct enemies but also of a segment of its regional support that secretly contracted with the foes of freedom?

The Spy Network That Betrayed the Algerian Revolution

At the heart of the secret war that swept through a people’s revolution, Morocco was not merely a transient station but rather the stage for a complex espionage operation, where revolutionary secrets were passed—from obscure hands to the arms of the Zionist Mossad, and then to the chambers of French intelligence—as if a dark deal was concluded behind closed doors.

This betrayal was not a mere fleeting treason but a flagrant and deliberate violation of all international laws, undermining the foundations of national sovereignty and the inalienable right of peoples to resist occupation. Documents leaked by the French National Archives in 2017 revealed how this network was exploited to strike at the struggle of an entire people and to enable the French war machine to commit unforgivable war crimes against civilians and freedom fighters alike.

At the depths of this conspiracy, Mossad emerged as a principal actor, not merely an intermediary, as affirmed by Israeli researcher Aaron Shapiro in his book Israeli Intelligence and the Algerian Revolution (Tel Aviv University Press, 2019), opening a dark door of questions regarding the extent of Zionist intelligence agencies’ involvement in supporting repression and widespread human rights violations.

In an equally impactful testimony, former British diplomat Richard Stevens recounts in his memoirs (Memoirs of a Diplomat, 2018) how the network of Moroccan agents infiltrated the heart of the resistance, delivering the secrets of the freedom fighters who had shed their blood for liberty, thus opening the door to an unprecedented wave of arrests and torture.

The scandal does not end there. According to a report by the American Center for Peace and Security Studies (2020), this network was not a routine intelligence cooperation but a calculated geopolitical conspiracy aimed at dismantling the bonds of legitimate struggle, flagrantly defying the Geneva Conventions and human rights agreements that guarantee civilian protection in times of war.

This bitter truth, long buried beneath layers of silence and secrecy, today brings us back to the court of history’s conscience, where there can be no leniency for such betrayal, and where accountability is imperative for all who stabbed the Algerian people’s struggle in the back.

 

Impact and Consequences: A Betrayal with Deadly Dimensions at the Heart of the Algerian Revolution

The intricate network woven by the Moroccan-Zionist-French intelligence apparatus dealt a lethal blow to every pillar of the Algerian revolution, profoundly affecting its political and humanitarian trajectory in ways that evoke both horror and pressing questions regarding the responsibility of international law to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Assassinations and Sabotage: The Tools of this Deadly Network

According to an investigative report published by The Intercept in 2021, based on leaked documents, Mossad and Moroccan intelligence collaborated in executing assassinations and sabotage operations targeting prominent leaders of the Algerian revolution. This was accompanied by Morocco receiving advanced technical and security support, which enabled it to tighten the noose on the resistance. Testimonies from former Moroccan intelligence defectors, published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in 2022, corroborated this dark cooperation, highlighting Morocco’s role as a conduit for intelligence sharing between Israel and France, effectively making Rabat a strategic base for pursuing the Mujahideen.

Military Impact: Destruction of Resistance Structures

French archival files (2017) reveal that leaked information enabled precise identification of Mujahideen operational sites, allowing French forces to launch mass arrest campaigns and target key Front de LibérationNationale (FLN) leaders. This caused severe disruption to military planning and weakened the resistance’s capabilities. Moreover, a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London (IISS, 2019) indicated that this betrayal directly contributed to disunity among factions and fostered suspicion and paranoia within the ranks of the revolution.

Legal Violations: War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity

Expert analyses by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC, 2020) confirm that exploiting this espionage network and the resulting repressive actions constitute blatant violations of the Geneva Conventions—particularly Common Article 3, which prohibits torture and arbitrary detention—and protocols criminalizing attacks on civilians and unlawful combatants.

In a notable article published by American legal scholar Robert Stein in the Harvard International Law Journal (2021), he stated that “the cooperation of foreign intelligence agencies with occupying powers against a national liberation movement constitutes an international crime, reproducing violent colonial domination and undermining the principle of peoples’ right to self-determination.”

Humanitarian and Political Dimensions

According to a detailed report issued by Amnesty International (2018), the leaked intelligence contributed to escalations in torture, arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial executions of prisoners, all in violation of the International Human Rights Charter, amounting to crimes against humanity.

Politically, British researcher Mark Anderson, in his book Shadows of Empire (Oxford University Press, 2022), observed that “this deep network weakened the FLN at its vital nodes, paving the way for destructive foreign interventions that damaged its international reputation and eroded its credibility among allies.”

International Context and Reactions

International responses to this scandal were mixed. African states strongly condemned the collusion in a joint statement issued by the African Union (2019), expressing full support for the Algerian revolution and its right to resist occupation by all legitimate means.

Conversely, Israel and France issued official denials, yet stopped short of categorically rejecting the allegations, indicating that the dossier remains open to further revelations in the near future, according to reports by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington (2023).

Legal and Judicial Dimensions: The Betrayal Network Under the Lens of International Law

What the leaked documents and secrets have revealed raises a fundamental legal question: Does this tripartite intelligence network constitute a war crime, or is it merely a political transgression? And what legal responsibilities can be attributed to Morocco, Israel, and France?

International Law Classification: Double Betrayal and Potential War Crime

According to the four Geneva Conventions (1949) and their additional protocols, targeting civilian resistors or freedom fighters through cooperation with a colonial power constitutes a war crime par excellence, as stated in Article 4 of the First Convention, which protects civilians and persons hors de combat.

Dr. Jean Martin, a professor of international law at the University of Paris, affirmed in his research published in the European Journal of International Law (2022) that “the transfer of precise intelligence information between parties hostile to the revolution represents a blatant violation of the principles of international humanitarian law and may fall within the scope of crimes against humanity if accompanied by systematic assassinations and destruction.”

Calls for Investigation and Accountability

International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued reports in 2023 demanding the opening of an independent international investigation into the crimes committed during the Algerian revolution, including the intelligence collusion revealed in this tripartite network.

Additionally, the report issued by the Center for International Law Studies in Geneva (2024) pointed to “strong legal grounds for prosecuting the involved parties under the principle of universal jurisdiction for international crimes,” thus opening the door to potential international trials.

Official Silence and the Challenge of Justice

Despite this legal evidence, no official initiatives have emerged from the involved countries (Morocco, Israel, France) to acknowledge their responsibilities or offer compensation to the victims. International legal analyst Leila Ben Saleh noted in her article in Le Monde Diplomatique (2024) that “the absence of official accountability opens the door to continued impunity and highlights the urgent need for the Algerian people and the international community to bring this case to international legal forums.”

Revealing the Truth… Restoring Dignity and Opening the Doors of Justice

At the heart of Algerian national history, the threads of a double betrayal are unfolding today, woven through corridors of darkness between regimes that did not hesitate to trade the blood of our children for a miserable political price. What we have uncovered is not merely a chapter from the past, but a loud call to a truth still hidden behind walls of silence and concealment.

These documents and reports have proven how sensitive information was used to shatter fierce resistance against colonialism, in an unforgivable betrayal involving grave violations of international humanitarian law and human rights.

Today, more than ever, history and ethics compel us to demand a full and comprehensive disclosure of this network, and to reopen the files of international justice, as a lesson for future generations and to achieve justice for the souls of our victims who paid the highest price.

Restoring the truth is not a choice but a national and humanitarian duty, exposing attempts at erasure and reinforcing Algeria’s position in defending the dignity of peoples and their legitimate rights.

Let us raise our voices loudly, not for revenge, but for justice and peace, and be certain that history will not forgive silence, nor tolerate forgetting these destructive betrayals.