UAE pushing Tunisia to normalise with Israel, Algeria official says

People gather in front of US Embassy during a demonstration in support of Palestinians and to protest against Israeli attacks to Palestinians, on May 21, 2021 in Tunis, Tunisia. [Yassine Gaidi – Anadolu Agency]

The head of Algeria’s National Construction Movement, Abdelkader Bengrina, has warned that the UAE is dragging Tunisia to normalise ties with Israel.

Bengrina, whose party is a member of the government coalition, said the UAE has always been behind “sowing discord and division in the region” including the differences between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and the exacerbation of the crisis in Yemen.

Bengrina appealed to Algerian officials to remain vigilant after the “recent ill-fated Emirati visits to Tunisia”, in order to secure “imminent” normalisation.

Last week, Emirati Minister of State, Sheikh Shakhbout Bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, visited Tunisia and met with President Kais Saied.

A few weeks ago, the Algerian El-Khabar newspaper, quoted “reliable” sources as saying that the “UAE is exerting pressure on Mauritania to recognise Israel and normalise relations with it.”

According to the paper, the Mauritanian minister of defence recently visited Israel, travelling through Dubai, as part of a trip supervised by Emirati officials.

READ: Tunisia studying law criminalising normalising ties with Israel

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