Bill by Algerian Lawmakers Looks to Criminalize Normalization with Israel

Youcef Adjissa, a member of the Movement for the Society of Peace – Algeria’s largest Islamic party, submitted the bill on the behalf of 50 lawmakers to the Presidency of the National People’s Assembly (parliament) on Thursday, Palestinian Arabic-language Shehab news agency reported.

The bill reportedly comes in seven articles, the first of which states “it aims to criminalize normalization with the Zionist entity,” referring to Israel.

It adds, “It is forbidden to communicate, establish any relationships, or open representative offices of any kind and at any level with the Zionist entity, either directly or indirectly.”

Another article stipulates that “it is not allowed to travel to and from the Occupied Palestine, and it is also forbidden to enter or receive citizenship of the Zionist entity in Algeria or at the headquarters of its diplomatic missions.”

The bill must have a vote of two-thirds of members of the parliament to become law. 

“This law is based on the positions of the Algerian state that rejects normalization with the Zionist entity, especially since normalization seriously affected the issue of Western Sahara through political bargaining, with commercial justifications and suspicious deals,” Algerian lawmaker Amira Selim had earlier said in a message posted on her Facebook page.

If the law is passed, an offender could be “punished by imprisonment from three to 10 years,” and may have their professional accreditations rescinded as a punitive measure.

Offenders may also be subject to a fine ranging from 300,000 to one million dinars ($2,273 to $7,619).