Mahmoud Barakat
December 15, 2017•Update: December 15, 2017
By Yamena Salmi
TUNIS
Scores of Tunisian protesters on Friday demanded the passage of legislation that would criminalize diplomatic normalization with Israel.
Protesters articulated the demand at a rally held to mark the passage of one year since the death of Mohamed al-Zawari, a Tunisian aviation engineer -- and Hamas member -- who was assassinated last year outside his home in Tunisia.
Protesters chanted slogans including, “The people demand that normalizers be punished!” and “Death to Israel!”
They also raised banners calling on parliament to approve legislation criminalizing normalization with what they described as “the Zionist entity”.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Kamal al-Gharbi, a political activist who attended the rally, extolled the slain aviation engineer, who, he said, had “sacrificed himself for the Palestinian cause and was killed by the Zionist enemy on Tunisian soil”.
He went on to demand that the Tunisian authorities track down and punish the “Zionist perpetrators” of al-Zawari’s murder and haul them before the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
In late 2015, Tunisia’s Popular Front bloc -- which holds 15 seats in parliament -- tabled draft legislation that would, if passed, call for penalties (including jail terms and monetary fines) against Tunisian citizens who had taken part in official activities with Israel.
On Monday, MPs of different political backgrounds resubmitted the bill to parliament, requesting that it be brought up again for debate.
The move came only days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, drawing a wave of condemnation and protest from across the Arab and Muslim world.
