Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) speaks as he and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend a ceremony for Hanukkah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, on Dec. 10, 2020. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday hailed the newly-announced normalization deal with Morocco as "a great light of peace." (Emil Salman/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Dec. 10 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday hailed the newly-announced normalization deal with Morocco as "a great light of peace."

"It will be a very warm peace," Netanyahu vowed in a televised statement at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

He said that as the first step, liaison offices will be opened in Israel and Morocco, in addition to resuming direct flights between the two countries.

Later, "we will act as quickly as possible to form full diplomatic ties," he said.

Netanyahu thanked Moroccan King Mohammed VI for "agreeing to make a historic peace with Israel," and U.S. President Donald Trump for helping broker the deal.

Earlier, Trump first announced the deal on Twitter, hailing the deal as "a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East."

Even without official ties, the two countries have maintained a friendly relationship, with many Israeli tourists traveling each year to Morocco.

Morocco is now the fourth Arab country to establish diplomatic ties with Israel in this year, following the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.