Does Algeria really want to criminalize any economic link with Israel and boycott foreign companies that support this country, like the case of French media like Cnews? We asked the question to the APN and to one of the initiators of the bill which was not submitted to the office of the lower house of Parliament.
In the midst of aggression against Gaza, Algerian deputies want to propose a bill to boycott Israel. The project is led by elected officials from the Society for Peace Movement (MSP, opposition). The initiative follows that of another elected official from the same party aiming to engrave in stone the criminalization of normalization with the Jewish state.
The text was written and developed by MP Youcef Adjissa and submitted to the office of the National People’s Assembly (APN) during the previous legislature. The text aimed to criminalize normalization with Israel and define it.
In addition to normalization itself, that is to say the establishment of diplomatic relations, the project targeted all other forms of rapprochement with Israel, such as the opening of respective representative offices, meetings between officials, participation to the same sporting competitions or cultural events and obviously the economic partnership. With strong penalties for offenders, up to 20 years in prison.
“As is the procedure, I submitted the project to the office of the Assembly and it responded to me with reservations,” explains in a statement to TSA, Youcef Adjissa, the deputy author of the initiative .
Since then, the text has remained in the drawers of the lower house of Parliament. But the MP continues to defend its merits.
This involves strengthening and framing the position of Algeriawhich is fundamentally against normalization with Israel, and which has no commercial relations with this country.
Algerian society as a whole supports the Palestinian cause and is against normalization, but the Israelis sometimes find loopholes to infiltrate, explains the parliamentarian, hence the need for a law that clarifies things. Especially since, he says, several Arab countries have adopted similar texts, such as Kuwait, Syria, Oman, etc.
Boycott of Israel: Algerian MPs plan to table a bill
For the parliamentarian, nothing prevents Algeria from promulgating such a law as long as the people and all state institutions are with the Palestinian cause. Such a text will perpetuate the Algerian position, beyond men and political colors, believes Youcef Adjissa.
This text not having passed beyond the stage of the office of the assembly, deputies of the same party developed another, intended to criminalize economic or commercial operations with Israeli entities or having a direct or distant link with Israel.
In other words, regulate and give a legal stamp to the boycott of Israel and the companies that support this country.
The text, proposed by MSP deputies Azzedine Zahouf, Zakaria Belkheir and Slimane Zagence, has not yet been submitted to the assembly office. “The bill has not been submitted to the APN office,” says an official source from the lower house of Parliament.
It continues to be discussed at the level of the legislation committee of the party’s parliamentary group and will be tabled soon, says Youcef Adjissa. “It is a serious and effective proposal. It concerns the boycott. This option has gained momentum in Europe against large companies that support Israel,” he explains.
The actions carried out so far have demonstrated that the boycott is a very effective weapon by having put in difficulty companies which do not hide their direct support for the Israeli army which is waging a bloody war against the Palestinian populations.
Asked if the text includes large global companies that deal in one way or another with the Jewish state, the MP indicated that the bill is still in the discussion and enrichment phase, emphasizing however that among its clauses, there is already the important provision of banning and boycotting, by force of law, any product manufactured in Israel, even in part, of companies from this country or global companies supporting the Israeli army.
The MSP deputy again recalls the example of certain European countries which ban products coming from Israeli colonies established in the occupied Palestinian territories.
