Former Algerian minister Abdelkader Bengrina claimed on Sunday that Tunisia is planning to normalize ties with Israel.
Algeria should "keep a watchful eye" on Tunisia after several visits were made to the country by representatives of Israel that come in line with normalization efforts, said Bengrina during a press conference, according to Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen.
Bengrina added that the Israeli visits made to Algeria's neighbor are expected to produce a normalization deal between “the occupation” and Tunisia in the "coming days", and stressed that such a deal would force Algeria into a state of insecurity and instability.
Despite his comments, there are no indications that Tunisia and Israel are close to normalizing ties. Earlier this month, in fact, the Tunisian parliament announced that a committee had started looking into introducing a draft law that would criminalize acts of normalization with Israel.
Tunisia, like most Arab countries, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. After several Arab countries normalized ties with Israel in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords, Tunisia reiterated it is not interested in establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and its position will not be affected by any international changes.
In 2014, Tunisia's tourism minister faced criticism from parliamentarians over a trip to Israel she took in 2006 to take part in a UN training program for Palestinian Arab youths.
In 2018, a Tunisian legislator ripped up an Israeli flag during a parliament session to push his demands for a law criminalizing relations with Israel.
The country has banned films featuring Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
Tunisian President Kais Saied in early 2020 described then-US President Donald Trump’s proposed peace deal for Israel and the Palestinian Authority as the "injustice of the century".
Algeria also does not have ties with Israel. The country announced in 2021 that it is severing its diplomatic relations with neighboring Morocco over what it called "hostile actions" on the part of Morocco. That move came after Morocco normalized ties with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords.