Indian Council of World Affairs

Introduction 

Over the past couple of decades, a political section in Tunisian Parliament had tried to pass the anti-normalisation bill that aimed to criminalise the relations with Israel. The latest attempt was made on November 2, 2023 when the anti-normalisation bill was placed for voting in the Tunisian Parliament.[i] The bill aimed to criminalise any kind of engagement between Tunisia and Israel, whether by an individual or the government. Earlier, political parties such as the Al-Wafa Movement in 2012 and Popular Front in 2015 had introduced the anti-normalization bill, but it did not see the light of the day then, due to the political division inside the Parliament. However, since the outbreak of the Gaza War in October 2023 and the resultant humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, there was renewed pressure on President Kais Saied’s government to introduce the bill in the Parliament for voting.[ii] Amidst the voting, President Saied used the Presidential veto power on November 3, 2023, that postponed the voting on the bill indefinitely. The opposition bloc announced that it would reconsider the bill after the Budget Session in February 2024. Till now, the anti-normalization bill has not been placed in the Parliament for voting. Therefore, it is pertinent to examine the status of the anti-normalisation bill in the Tunisian Parliament and the related domestic political dynamics of Tunisia. 

Background 

Historically, the Israeli leadership has made close contact with the Tunisian political leadership. Tunisia and Israeli relations peaked during Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s rule. Tunisia established partial diplomatic ties with Israel in 1996. Following the failure of the Camp David peace talks and the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000, Tunisia closed its diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv. However, back channel diplomacy and security relations thrived between Israel and Tunisia. Israel was concerned when it lost Ben Ali in the region following his removal from power during the Arab Spring in 2011. The demand to “criminalise” the normalisation of ties with Israel was raised by Islamist groups for the first time during the 2011 Arab Spring. 

The post-Ben Ali political leadership did not approve of any normalisation of relations with Israel due to the fear of large-scale opposition to its legitimacy. In the October 2019 Presidential election, Kais Saied became the President of Tunisia and regarded any ties with Israel as “high treason.”[iii] The Abraham Accords of 2020 failed to have a positive impact on Tunisia. However, under President Saied’s leadership, the security relations at multilateral platforms improved with Israel. The two countries even participated in a multinational naval exercise Sea Breeze in the Black Sea in November 2021. Besides, economic and trade partnership between Tunisia and Israel, though small, reached 19 million dollars in June 2022, followed by tourism and investments in the fields of agriculture and irrigation. 

On June 8, 2022, Israeli news website Israel Hayom reported that “Tunisia and Israel are exploring the possibility of establishing closer ties”, adding that Algeria is attempting to derail their efforts.[iv] However, Tunisia strongly denied reports that it was in talks to normalise relations with Israel, calling them “rumours spread by sites affiliated with Israel.”[v]

Key Elements of the Anti-Normalisation Bill 

The proposed bill defined normalisation as “recognition of the Zionist entity or the establishment of direct or indirect ties” with it, a crime that would be classified as “high treason.”[vi]Any individual found guilty of “the crime of normalisation” with any individual or entity from Israel would face a penalty of between 6 to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 Tunisian dinars (3000–30000 Euros). Repeat offenders would be jailed for life.[vii]The bill had effectively criminalised the members of Tunisia’s Jewish community, many of whose family members carry Israeli passports. 

The anti-normalisation bill proscribes ties between Tunisians and Israelis or “institutions, organisations, governmental or non-governmental” entities with ties to the state of Israel. It also outlaws Tunisians’ participation in any political, economic, scientific, cultural, artistic or sporting event organised in Israeli territory. 

Introduction of the Anti-Normalisation Bill and President Saied’s Veto 

On October 12, 2023, the National Sovereign Parliamentary Bloc submitted a proposal in this regard to the Tunisian Parliamentary Committee on Rights and Freedom following the escalation of Israel’s attack on Gaza, which resulted in a large-scale humanitarian crisis. The Parliamentary Committee on Rights and Freedom considered the bill for discussion after 97 members of 154 agreed to approve the bill for debate on October 24, 2023. As a result, on November 2, 2023, Tunisian lawmakers met in a plenary session in which they passed the first two articles of the bill. President of the Parliament Ibrahim Bouderbala closed the session and postponed voting to November 3. Then, on November 3, Bouderbala did not open the session, prompting some MPs to petition, claiming they would suspend all parliamentary activities until they voted on the bill. The vote appeared to be delayed indefinitely.[viii]

The media reported that Bourderbala’s decision came after receiving a letter from Tunisian President Saied, who called for the postponement of the plenary session using the President’s veto power. Besides, President Kais Saied also made a televised speech on November 3, 2023, from the Presidential Palace. He objected to the proposed bill criminalising the normalisation of relations with Israel in his speech, as he stated that it would harm Tunisia’s foreign affairs and security. In the context of the Gaza War, he noted that “it is a war of liberation, not a war of criminalization.”[ix]

There are several possible reasons which prompted President Saied to postpone the bill. As Tunis and Tel Aviv have no diplomatic relations, and hence it was not clear who Tunisia’s anti-normalisation law criminalises. Second, Tunisian economy is going through a troubling phase, and the proposed bill had the potential to isolate Tunisia from the global economic architecture, in which Western countries are the major players who have a strong relationship with Israel. Moreover, the bill could potentially polarise Tunisian society, which is already facing political instability, and also on the external side, the bill did not address geopolitical implications for Tunisia, which might threaten its overall security. 

Saied’s move came as a surprise, as in the past, he had opposed any ties with Israel. During the Gaza War, President Kais Saied extended unconditional support for the liberation of Palestinian land. However, it was not reflected in his diplomatic policy during the vote at the UNGA, where Tunisia abstained from its vote regarding the ceasefire resolution on October 28, 2023. Besides, it is important to note that Tunisia hosted the seventh African Lion Military Exercise[x] on April 29, 2024, with USA, Morocco, along with Ghana and Senegal which indicated that it was not shy of close partnership with Israel’s partners. 

Conclusion 

In the regional context, Algeria considers the growing influence of Israel in the region as a direct threat to its national security.[xi] However, the Algerian government did not make a comment on Tunisian’s anti-normalization bill but it is important to highlight that on November 3, 2023 when Tunisia’s anti-normalization bill was postponed, Algerian Parliament had voted in favor of military support to Palestine. 

The other countries in the region, such as Morocco, Libya, and Egypt, have not commented on Tunisia’s anti-normalisation bill. Notably, Libya’s Western faction ruled by Mohammed Dbeibeh maintained a 1957 law that made it illegal to normalize ties with Israel. However, the eastern faction led by Warlord Khalifa Haftar has continuously contacted Israel for military and financial support. Egypt and Morocco have already made strong relationships with Israel. In this context, in the post-Abraham Accords, the North African region has looked more pro-normalization than before, and it is only the recent Gaza War that is preventing the countries from normalising their ties with Israel. 

At the domestic level, Tunisia as a society seems more polarised on the issue of normalising ties with Israel. Former Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui made a clear statement expressing support for normalisation, while Noureddine Taboubi, General Secretary of the powerful Tunisian General Workers Union (UGTT), said that “the anti-normalisation law will help deepen the isolation of Israel.”[xii]

In addition, the proposed bill had significant weaknesses as it failed to distinguish between government-to-government normalisation and people to people ties. This lack of nuance could damage Tunisia’s economy and national security and isolate the country globally. Furthermore, it not only aimed to prohibit communication between Tunisians and Jews in Israel, but it could also have banned communication with Palestinians holding Israeli passports.[xiii]As of now, the anti-normalisation bill has become dormant as President Saied exercised his veto power to postpone the voting.

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*Dr. Arshad, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
The views expressed are personal.

End Notes

[i] Tunisia is not the only country that intends to criminalise its ties with Israel. Arab countries, including Iraq, Yemen and Algeria, passed laws to criminalise any type of relationship with Israel after the UAE, Bahrain and Israel signed the Abraham Accords.

[ii] Tunisian General Workers Union (UGTT), National Committee for Supporting Arab Resistance and Opposing Normalisation and Zionism headed by Ahmed el-K

ahlawy; Tunisian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, by Ahmad Abbas Besides; National Line Bloc headed by Abdel Razzaq; and Tunisian Anti-Normalisation Campaign headed by Ghassan Ben Khelifa in parliament.

[iii]“Tunisia’s new president regards any ties with Israel is ‘high treason’,” The Times of Israel, October 16, 2019, accessed https://tinyurl.com/2u3pezsx, May 12, 2024.

[iv]“Algeria attempts to thwart Tunisia-Israel Normalization talks, media reports,” Middle East Monitor, June 9, 2022, accessed https://tinyurl.com/efb3pk7z, May 18, 2024.

[v]“Tunisia angrily denies reports of normalization talks with Israel,” Arab News, June 9, 2022, accessed https://tinyurl.com/2tef3etw, May 19, 2024.

[vi]“Tunisia’s President opposes anti-Israel normalization law,” Sputnik: Africa, November 4, 2023, accessed https://tinyurl.com/2exstdvu, May 23, 2024.

[vii]“The anti-Israel law dividing Saied and Tunisia’s Parliament,” Arab News, November 28, 2023, accessed https://tinyurl.com/58pwmzsc, May 22, 2024.

[viii] “Pressure grows to criminalize Tunisia-Israel ties, but Government pushes back,” Meshkal, November 4, 2023, accessed https://meshkal.org/tunisia-israel-normalization/, May 20, 2024.

[ix] “The official Tunisian position on the Palestinian issue: Between rhetoric and confusion,” The Legal Agenda, November 30, 2023, accessed https://tinyurl.com/4r6tj6pt, May 22, 2024.

[x] USA, Morocco, Ghana and Senegal

[xi]“Will Tunisia be next? Why Algeria fears Israel normalization is on the way,” Arab News, July 7, 2022, accessed https://tinyurl.com/38dm4f9t, Macy 23, 2024.

[xii]“Tunisia union chief slams normalization, declares Gaza support ‘duty’” Al Mayadeen, January 20, 2024, accessed https://tinyurl.com/4dsa2xve, May 25, 2024.

[xiii]“Tunisia debates bill to criminalize normalization of ties with Israel,” Al-Jazeera, November 2, 2023, accessed https://tinyurl.com/mp97n9cd, May 23, 2024.