Middle East Monitor / August 30, 2023
The envoy of Tunisian President Kais Saied to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has confirmed that his country has no intention to normalize relations with Israel, Anadolu has reported. The message was revealed by Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ataf.
Earlier this month, the head of Algeria’s National Construction Movement, Abdelkader Bengrina, warned that the UAE is dragging Tunisia to normalize ties with Israel. He called on his country to remain vigilant after the “recent ill-fated Emirati visits to Tunisia” to secure “imminent” normalization.
Bengrina’s remarks followed the visit to Tunisia of UAE Minister of State Sheikh Shakhbout Bin Nahyan al-Nahyan, during which he met with President Saied.
The Committee on Rights and Freedoms in the Tunisian parliament has recently started reviewing a draft law calling for normalization with Israel to be punished, after previous governments and parliaments failed to enact such legislation.
Moreover, a few weeks ago, Algeria’s Al-Khabar quoted “reliable” sources as saying that, “The UAE is exerting pressure on Mauritania to recognize Israel and normalize relations with it.” According to the newspaper, the Mauritanian Minister of Defence recently visited Israel, travelling through Dubai, as part of a trip supervised by UAE officials.
