Tunisian President Rejects Normalization with Israel – Last Minute World News
Tunisia Reaffirms Its Stance Against Normalization with Israel
Tunisia’s President, Kais Saied, delivered a speech to the public on the country’s official television channel, expressing his unwavering opposition to normalization with Israel. This comes after a recent discussion in the Tunisian People’s Assembly regarding a law that criminalizes any form of normalization with the occupying state.
During his speech, President Saied firmly stated, “There is no normalization with Israel in my vocabulary. Tunisia’s attitude towards normalization is stable. Our stance on the bill criminalizing normalization discussed in the Parliament has not changed. If it changes, this will be against the Palestinian people, and it would be considered treason.”
President Saied emphasized that Tunisia will continue to stand by Palestine with full support until the occupation ends. He called the Palestinians’ struggle against the occupation a fight for the rights of the oppressed. Establishing any form of relationship with the occupying state would be seen as a betrayal of the Palestinian people.
The President also referenced Article 60 of the Tunisian Penal Code, which deems any collaboration with the occupying state as treason. The article states that the penalty for this crime is death. Tunisian authorities view Article 60 as a crucial legal basis in their fight against the occupying state.
The discussion of the draft law criminalizing normalization with Israel in the Tunisian Parliament took place on November 2, lasting late into the night. Parliament Speaker Ibrahim Buderbale recommended the session’s postponement, citing concerns about the negative impacts of such a law on Tunisia’s external security.
It is worth noting that an extraordinary meeting was held by the Tunisian Assembly on October 17 specifically to discuss the draft law. According to the proposed legislation, those found guilty of normalization with Israel would face sentences ranging from 2 to 5 years in prison and fines ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 Tunisian dinars ($3,200-32,000).
A written statement released by the Tunisian People’s Assembly announced that, upon the request of Parliament Speaker Ibrahim Buderbale, the bill criminalizing normalization was submitted to the Parliamentary Committee on Rights and Freedoms for urgent consideration.
The statement also revealed that, during an extraordinary session of the General Assembly, convened in light of recent developments in Palestine, 97 Members of Parliament signed a petition to prioritize the bill criminalizing normalization with Israel.
Following the postponement of the parliamentary session scheduled for October 30 to discuss the law, a protest demonstration took place in front of the Tunisian Parliament. The demonstration expressed public support for the urgent consideration of the bill and reinforced the country’s stance against normalization with Israel.
