AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Tunisia has no plans to follow Morocco’s lead and normalize relations with Israel, Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said Monday.
Morocco last week became the fourth Arab country to recognize Israel in recent months, a diplomatic breakthrough for the Trump administration on the heels of US-brokered deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.
“For Tunisia, the question is not on the agenda,” Mechichi said in an interview with France 24 Monday.
“We respect Morocco’s choice, Morocco is a sister country that we love very much,” Mechichi said. “Every country has its own reality, its own truth and its own diplomacy, which it considers best for its people.”
In the past, Tunisia and Israeli occupation regime have had limited ties. Tunis opened an interests section in Israel from 1996, but in solidarity with Palestinians, severed ties with Zionist regime amid the second intifada in 2000.
On the possibility of restoring relations, Mechichi said Monday that the Trump administration had not reached out to him.
“Every country has its own reality, its own truth and its own diplomacy, which it considers best for its people,” Mechichi said.
On Saturday, Netanyahu claimed Israel is “in touch with additional countries that want to join and establish relations with us.” A diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post that Oman and Indonesia could be next to strike normalization deals with Israeli regime.
/129
source : Al Monitor
Wednesday
16 December 2020
6:47:36 AM
1096242
Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said that he respects Morocco's choice to recognize the Jewish state but that Tunisia is not considering doing the same.