On Thursday, Tunisian deputies met in plenary session to debate a bill that would penalize the normalization of ties with the State of Israel.
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The bill defines "normalization" as "the recognition of the Zionist entity or the establishment of direct or indirect links" with it. The crime of normalization would be classified as "high treason."
Anyone found guilty of the "crime of normalization" would face a sentence of between six and 10 years in prison and a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 Tunisian dinars (3,000 to 30,000 euros), according to the text. Repeat offenders would be imprisoned for life.
"We will defend our position that the Palestinian question is the central issue for our people. We oppose normalization and the recognition of the legitimacy of this entity," said the president of the Tunisian parliament, Brahim Bouderbala.
According to Bouderbala, the 161 deputies were aligned with the president's position and the aspirations of the Tunisian people on the issue. Many pro-Palestinian marches were organized in the country recently.
"We firmly maintain our position that Palestine must be liberated from the river to the sea, with the full recovery of the homeland, the return of all territories and the establishment of the Palestinian state on all its lands, with Jerusalem as its capital," Tunisian parliament president said.
The 6-article bill should not be passed immediately. If voted on, it would ban ties between Tunisians and Israelis or "institutions, organizations, governmental or non-governmental" linked to the State of Israel. It also prohibits the participation of Tunisians in any event organized in Israeli-controlled territories, whether a "political, economic, scientific, cultural, artistic or sporting event."
The 6-article legislation was first presented by the Bloc national souverain group in July 2023. However, Inkyfada media details that 36 members of the National Constituent Assembly presented a similar bill in November 2012. The project sought "criminalize all forms of normalization with the Zionist state." The initiative was led by the Al Wafa parliamentary group, formed by former members of the Congress for the Republic party.
Israeli forces continue to bombard the Gaza Strip in the 27-day escalation. Soldiers are also battling Hamas militants on the ground. Since Hamas fighters attacked Israeli territory on Oct. 7, Israel has launched an offensive that has killed more than 9,000 Palestinians. Two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.