Radical Tunisian groups glorify Hamas’s October 7 massacre while pushing a campaign to outlaw any contact with Israel.
In a disturbing echo of Hamas propaganda, pro-Palestinian Arab organizations in Tunisia have launched a campaign to criminalize normalization with Israel, marking the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The initiative, titled “One Million Signatures to Criminalize Normalization,” was unveiled on October 7, 2025—a date cynically chosen to honor Hamas’s so-called “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, which murdered over 1,200 Israelis in one of the darkest days of modern Jewish history.
The campaign is led by the Coordination Committee for Joint Action for Palestine (CJA), the Tunisian Boycott Campaign, and the Anti-Normalization Campaign, all known for their anti-Israel rhetoric. In their joint statement, the groups portrayed their movement as “a struggle” against what they called “colonial ambitions and soft normalization.”
The organizers warned against the “American-Zionist axis” and railed against peace initiatives such as the Abraham Accords, accusing them of trying to “integrate Israel into the region.” They further denounced Arab governments that have normalized relations with Jerusalem, labeling such actions as “betrayal.”
Despite the launch coinciding with the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, the groups remain adamant about promoting their anti-Israel agenda. As of mid-October, however, campaign leaders admitted they have not yet begun collecting signatures, citing bureaucratic hurdles and data protection concerns.
Tunisia, which has never established diplomatic relations with Israel, continues to resist regional peace trends. While neighboring Arab states—including the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan—chose to embrace reconciliation under the Abraham Accords, Tunisian leaders have remained hostile to normalization.
Tunisian President Kais Saied, a vocal opponent of the Abraham Accords, has previously called former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan the “injustice of the century.” In August 2023, he declared that the term “normalization” “does not exist” for him—despite halting parliamentary debate on an anti-normalization bill.
Tunisia’s history of hostility toward Israel is long-standing:
- In 2014, a tourism minister faced backlash for visiting Israel in 2006 for a UN program supporting Palestinian youth.
- In 2018, a legislator ripped up the Israeli flag in parliament, demanding a law to ban relations with the Jewish state.
Observers say this new campaign further isolates Tunisia from the growing circle of Arab nations seeking stability and prosperity through peace with Israel.
As one Israeli analyst noted:
“While Arab nations are building bridges with Israel, Tunisia is choosing to glorify terror and deepen division. It’s a moral regression dressed as resistance.”
