Raised by an Israeli minister, the question of normalization between Tunis and Tel Aviv provoked a controversy. The establishment of relations with Israel is unanimously rejected by the population, who have not forgotten the aerial bombardment of the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization installed in the locality of Hammam Chatt.
All it took was a short sentence, a simple insinuation from Aïssaoui Farij, the Israeli minister in charge of regional cooperation to create a real controversy in Tunisia and in the Maghreb countries. On October 18, on the sidelines of a visit to the United Arab Emirates, the only minister of Arab origin in the government of Naftali Bennett gave a lengthy interview to online media Erem News in which he claimed that in the future, other Arab or Muslim countries may recognize Israel in the future.
“Just like the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan in the past, the Sultanate of Oman, Tunisia, Qatar, Malaysia, and other countries could accept [normalization with Israel, note]. Why did The Emirates have they accepted and not the Sultanate of Oman? Understanding and peace are in the interest of all the peoples of the region “underlined the Israeli minister in charge of regional cooperation.
Perception
The statement of Aïssaoui Farij, who had expressed a supposition, was seen as the announcement of an imminent recognition of Israel by Tunisia. The wish of this left-wing minister, who has been promoting peace and a two-state solution throughout this interview, seems to have been taken out of context. For some media, the remarks in question foreshadow a normalization between Israel and the states cited. On social networks, the little phrase has given rise to multiple interpretations, often with a North African dimension.
In Tunisia, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs came to create a controversy in controversy the day after Aïssaoui Farij’s statement. Ahmed Ounaies, who was head of diplomacy in 2011, told Mosaic FM that “Tunisia does not regard Israel as its enemy “. A vision not shared by Belahssen El Yahiaoui, a researcher in political history. Contacted by Sputnik, he specifies that “Tunisia is at war against Israel”.
“On the issue of normalizing relations with the Zionist entity, Tunisia’s situation is totally different from that of other Arab countries. War and blood separate Tunisia and Israel because the latter has led a military offensive against our territory. It is a situation of hostility that cannot be concealed because there can be no normalization with our aggressor, “he underlines.
The academic refers to the air raid carried out on October 1, 1985, by the Israeli air force against Hammam Echatt, a locality in the southern suburbs of Tunis, where the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had set up its headquarters. “Operation Wooden Leg“, carried out by ten F-15 Eagle fighter-bombers, claimed the lives of 50 Palestinians and 18 Tunisians in addition to a hundred wounded. For Belahssen El Yahiaoui, this attack that targeted the Tunisian territory is one of the elements which reinforce the rejection of the company towards any idea of normalization. However, he recognizes the existence of circles favorable to the establishment of relations with Israel.
“Everything that is said about a possible normalization of Tunisia, which would thus be part of the next caravan of Abraham’s agreements with the Sultanate of Oman, is false. The Tunisian people are opposed to normalization. Unfortunately, the Israelis s ‘lean on certain circles in Tunisia to promote relations. These include the ties between Israel and the Jewish community which was quite large in our country. At times, this gave rise to a form of cultural, artistic normalization, and academic. But relations have remained at this level. Nothing official has been recorded politically and economically. If the rulers attempt to impose relations with the Zionist entity, they will face rejection of the Zionist entity. Tunisian population, “he warns.
The Islamist lobby
Belahssen El Yahiaoui also believes that the sidelining of the Islamist Ennahda party has ruled out any normalization project with Tel Aviv. “On the political scene, it was circling close to the Muslim Brotherhood who laid the groundwork for the recognition of Israel by Tunisia, in particular during the refusal of the inclusion in the 2014 Constitution of the principle of the prohibition of any normalization with the Zionist state“, indicates the researcher in political history.
“We find that the majority of the governments claiming to be Muslim Brotherhood in Arab countries have established relations with Tel Aviv; Morocco and Jordan are the perfect examples. After the withdrawal of the Muslim Brotherhood from decision-making circles in Tunisia, we can say that the specter of normalization has disappeared,” he adds.
Belahssen El Yahiaoui sees President Kaïs Saïed’s rejection of normalization as “a sincere act which does not respond to electoral considerations“. According to him, even if the Tunisian head of state fully assumes this choice, he also faces “financial and economic pressures” to declare an official rapprochement with Israel. “These pressures are exerted by the Zionist entity and especially by the powers which support it“, he says. For Mr. El Yahiaoui, the intransigence of Tunisian society on this subject constitutes the best protection.
