Tunisian parties' calls have escalated for the enactment of a law criminalizing normalization, in light of an Arab race toward Israel, and criticism of the Tunisian diplomatic position regarding the Palestinian issue.

There is no explicit chapter in the post-revolution constitution that criminalizes normalization with the occupation, as opposed to the indication in its preamble that Tunisia stands with the oppressed everywhere, and the right of peoples to self-determination.

Implementation has been suspended


, and parties affiliated with leftist and nationalist forces in 2012 and 2015 proposed bills criminalizing normalization with the "Zionist entity", but they collided, as they say, with the opposition of the major blocs, and with the presidency of the republic being abandoned, so that the projects remained locked in the shelves of Parliament.

The People's Movement renewed - in an official statement a few days ago - its representatives in Parliament insisted on the need to quickly enact a law criminalizing normalization. It also condemned what it described as "the Arab regimes scrambling towards normalization with the gangs of the Zionist entity."

The Secretary-General of the movement, Zuhair Al-Maghzawi, in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, said that the renewal of his party, the Da`wah, to accelerate the enactment of a law criminalizing normalization with the Zionist entity, is in line with the popular position in support of the Palestinian right that does not expire.

Al-Maghzawi described the official and diplomatic position on the announced normalization agreement with Israel as weak, calling on the parliamentary blocs to embody their positions rejecting normalization on the ground - far from rhetorical slogans - in order to score political points against the opponents, he said.

On the other hand, he was surprised that some political parties blamed the President of the Republic, Qais Saeed, accusing him of negligence and breaking pledges regarding the issue of normalization, stressing that the responsibility rests with Parliament and the blocs in enacting a law that incriminates it.

Tunisian diplomacy


, and the president had previously been subjected to harsh popular and partisan criticism, after he kept silent for days about the unprecedented step taken by the UAE to announce its normalization with Israel, after which he went before the Palestinian ambassador and affirmed his respect for the will of states.

The Tunisian diplomacy’s handling of this issue raised several question points, following two successive dismissals, and within months, of the permanent representatives of Tunisia to the United Nations, fair Batti and Qais al-Qibtini.

The French newspaper "Le Figaro" revealed at the time that the reasons for dismissing Bati were due to his providing too much support to the Palestinians at the expense of his country's relationship with Washington, and disagreements between him and the President of the Republic in assessing the position on the "deal of the century."

A few days ago, the country's Coptic representative - who was only 5 months after the decision to appoint him - announced his resignation from the diplomatic corps, attacking the president, in media statements to Agence France-Presse, and explicitly declaring that he “no longer trusts him” after abruptly ending his international mission.

The justification published by the Foreign Ministry - regarding the refusal of Arab countries to adopt a resolution related to Palestine, during the meeting of the League of Arab States - angered the popular and political circles, which described it as "shameful and disgraceful to Tunisia and its revolution."

Condemnation and rejection


The statement stated that the withdrawal of the Palestinian project that condemns the Emirati-Israeli normalization came "at an urgent request from the delegation of the State of Palestine as a result of the failure to reach a consensus on it."

The Foreign Ministry affirmed Tunisia's steadfast support for the Palestinian cause, its absolute support for the Palestinian people, and its permanent support for them in their struggle for their legitimate rights to self-determination.

Other parties expressed their rejection of the Emirati and Bahraini normalization decision, as the Republican Party condemned what it described as the "fluid official Arab position towards the step taken by the rulers of the Emirates to normalize normalization with the Zionist entity and thwart the Palestinian project rejecting normalization in the Arab League."

The "Republican" called on Parliament to expedite the enactment of a law criminalizing normalization, calling on the President of the Republic "to announce without delay, a clear Tunisian official position condemning all steps of normalization with the occupation state."

For its part, the "Tunisia Forward Movement", in an official statement, called on both the presidency of the government and the republic not to engage in one way or another "in the treacherous scheme led by the Arab League" and to consecrate what Said - during his election campaign - described as "normalization is a treason."

Just cause


Rafiq Abdel Salam, former foreign minister and leader of the Ennahda Movement, stressed - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - that the Palestinian issue and normalization with the occupation do not accept neutrality, nor compromise, according to him.

He rejected the accusations that his party had obstructed the passage of a bill criminalizing normalization with the Zionist entity in parliament, stressing the uniqueness of the Tunisian constitution by stipulating during the prelude to the right of peoples to liberation, and supporting just causes, foremost of which is the Palestinian cause.

He pointed out that the draft criminalization of the postponed normalization in Parliament entered into political calculations, and the Ennahda movement alone does not bear the burden of not passing it, calling on the blocs to overcome differences and consult again and put the project in Parliament.

Abd al-Salam mentioned his party’s invitation to the president of the republic to express an official position on normalization, and to “be in harmony with himself and with his speech when he previously stated that normalization is a betrayal,” pointing out that the position on the Palestinian issue is not an internal matter decided by countries, but rather needs Arab and Islamic consensus.

In the same context, the former foreign minister mocked what he described as the justifications provided by the governments of Bahrain and the UAE in going towards normalization under the pretext of achieving Arab national security, in the face of the Turkish and Iranian regimes.

It is noteworthy that activists, human rights organizations and party leaders have continued, for weeks, to organize protest vigils to denounce Arab normalization with Israel, the latest of which was yesterday evening in the center of the capital.