Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) has expressed deep concern and astonishment over reports that members of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF),

including a unit responsible for grave violations in Gaza, are participating in the ongoing "African Lion" military exercises hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco.

The organization also voiced concern over recent remarks by the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, as well as coverage in various media outlets, which suggested that IDF soldiers, specifically from the Golani Brigade, have been deployed to Morocco as part of the multinational drills.

The exercises, which began earlier this month and are scheduled to continue until May 23, 2025, involve more than 20 countries, including several Arab states. Images have emerged showing Israeli soldiers posing for a group photo in the Agadir region, holding both the Israeli flag and the flag of the Golani Brigade.

The Golani unit has been widely accused of participating in a massacre in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, in early 2024. According to humanitarian sources, that attack resulted in the deaths of at least 15 paramedics and humanitarian workers, including employees of United Nations agencies. These actions, WJWC notes, represent a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, including the protections afforded to civilians and aid workers under the Geneva Conventions.

WJWC is calling on the Moroccan government to issue an official clarification regarding the reported presence of IDF personnel on its territory. The organization stressed that any form of military cooperation with forces accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity violates Morocco’s obligations under international law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Hosting members of a military unit accused of grave violations, without any investigation or accountability process, constitutes a serious breach of international justice principles,” WJWC said in its statement. “It also undermines confidence in the international system, which must be grounded in the principles of transparency, accountability, and the rule of law.”

The organization emphasized the importance of adhering to the principles of universal jurisdiction and non-impunity, both of which are fundamental to international humanitarian and criminal law. It also warned that failure to investigate or condemn such participation could be interpreted as implicit normalization or complicity with parties accused of committing atrocities.

WJWC further urged the Moroccan government to adopt a clear and transparent position reaffirming its rejection of any form of military or political normalization with entities implicated in crimes against civilians, in order to preserve Morocco’s moral and legal standing on the international stage.

The organization also called on the United Nations to investigate the reported presence of the Israeli unit through official diplomatic channels and urged the broader international community to avoid actions that could confer legitimacy or protection upon perpetrators of war crimes.

“The international community must not remain silent in the face of reports that undermine justice and allow impunity to flourish,” the statement concluded.