Saied sends message to Tebboune clarifying stance on Israel
A former Tunisian diplomat said on August 15 that Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has sent a message to his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, explaining his stance on normalisation of ties with Israel.
The presidency in Tunis, Tunisia’s capital city, confirmed that Saied had dispatched Nabil Ammar as a special envoy to Algerian President Tebboune without disclosing the content of his message, reports Middle East Monitor, August 17.
Abdullah Al-Obeidi, a former diplomat said that the message mostly referred to Kais Saied’s stance on the normalisation of ties with Israel.
Last year, the Tunisian President was widely criticised by many in the Middle East and North African region of paving the way for normalisation with the Middle Eastern nation after issuing a decree approving the Madrid Protocol for the Integrated Management of Tourist Areas in the Mediterranean. The protocol has been signed by twenty countries including the state of Israel.
As support for Palestine is strong in North Africa, people in positions of power in the region who are seen to be normalising ties with Israel have received backlash.
A sizeable number of Moroccans have criticised the Moroccan King for his ties with the country. This has led to the arrests of ordinary Moroccans as the North African country.
READ: Tunisia and UAE relations move forward
Obeidi cited the Tunisian condolences sent to Morocco for the victims of the latest traffic accident and the visit of a United Arab Emirates (UAE) minister, believing that they might be related to normalisation efforts.
The head of Algeria’s National Construction Movement, Abdelkader Bengrina, warned that the UAE is dragging Tunisia towards normalising ties with the Israelis. Bengrina, whose party is a member of the government coalition, said that the UAE has always been behind “sowing discord and division in the region,” including the differences between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and the enflaming of the chaotic situation in Yemen.
MIDDLE EAST MONITOR
