• Tunisian lawmakers mull law to criminalise normalisation with Israel

MANAMA: Bahrain’s parliament said on Thursday that the Gulf state’s ambassador to Israel had returned home and economic ties had been suspended in protest over the Israeli aggression in Gaza.

However, the government did not confirm the moves, and Israel said it had received no word of any such actions, saying its relations with Bahrain were “stable”.

In its statement, the parliament — a consultative body with no powers in the area of foreign policy — said the moves “confirmed Bahrain’s historic position in support of the Palestinian cause”.

“The Council of Representatives affirms that the Israeli ambassador in the kingdom of Bahrain has left Bahrain and the kingdom of Bahrain has decided on the return of the Bahrain ambassador to Israel,” the parliament said in a statement “The cessation of economic relations was also decided,” it said, without making clear who had made the decision.

Abdulnabi Salman, parliament’s first deputy speaker, confirmed the decision, saying the “ongoing conflict in Gaza cannot tolerate silence”.

Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “We would like to clarify that no notification or decision has been received from the government of Bahrain and the government of Israel to return the countries’ ambassadors. Relations between Israel and Bahrain are stable.” The parliament’s statement was not carried by the kingdom’s state television or its official news agency.

Any suspension of diplomatic and economic ties, if confirmed, would mark a significant setback for Israel.

Bahrain, which is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, is a signatory of the Abraham Accords, a series of normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab nations signed in 2020.

Last month, speaking at an investment conference in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain’s finance minister Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa had said it was important to continue to build bridges when asked about the Abraham Accords.

Days earlier, Bahrain’s industry and commerce minister Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro declined to comment when asked at a conference in Abu Dhabi in October about the status of trade and investment ties with Israel.

Analysts have said the rapprochement with Israel was forged partly through shared fears of Iran. Bahrain’s parliament comprises the Council of Representatives and a 40-member Shura Council appointed by the king.

‘Criminalise normalisation’

Meanwhile, Tunisian parliament on Thursday began debating a bill that would criminalise any normalisation of ties with Israel.

The draft bill defines “normalisation” as “recognition of the Zionist entity or the establishment of direct or indirect ties” with it, a crime which would be classed as “high treason”.

Anyone found guilty of “the crime of normalisation” would face a penalty of between six to 10 years of prison and a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 Tunisian dinars (3,000 to 30,000 euros), the text says. Any repeat offenders would be jailed for life.

“There is total agreement between the president, the parliament and public opinion” on this matter, parliamentary speaker Brahim Bouder­bala told lawmakers at the start of the session.

“We strongly believe Palestine must be liberated from the river to the sea.. and that a Palestinian state must be established with Holy Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.

The legislation was drawn up and approved in late October by a group of lawmakers who back President Kais Saied, who altered the constitution to bring in an ultra-presidential regime following a 2021 coup.

It would also proscribe any interaction between Tunisians and Israelis, including “events, demonstrations, meetings, exhibitions and competitions” in any context, be it “political, economic, scientific, cultural, artistic or sporting” in territory held or occupied by Israel.

Over the past month, thousands of Tunisians have hit the streets in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

The country has a Jewish community numbering about a thousand people, most of whom live on the southern island of Djerba. Thousands att­end an annual pilgrimage to the El Ghriba synagogue on the island every May.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2023