Algeria, Tunisia refuse to participate in 'Cairo Peace Summit'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen + News website
21 Oct 2023 02:06
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Algiers and Tunis will not take part in the summit due to the presence of representatives from the Israeli occupation entity.

Demonstrators wave Palestinian and Algerian national flags as they march in a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza in Algiers on October 19, 2023. (AFP)

Amid the savage and brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza, Algeria refrained from participating in the "Cairo Peace Summit," which is expected to focus on ways to de-escalate the situation in Gaza and the Palestinian territories.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had received an invitation from his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to participate in the summit scheduled for Saturday, October 21, 2023, in Cairo to discuss developments in the Palestinian cause and the "peace process". However, according to Algerian media, Algiers decided not to attend this summit.

Similarly, Tunisia has also decided not to take part in the summit in Cairo, according to Tunisian radio station Mozaique.

Earlier, the Secretary-General of the People's Movement in Tunisia, Zouhair al-Maghzaoui, confirmed that the Tunisian Parliament will approve in the next few weeks a draft law criminalizing normalization with the Israeli occupation.

"We requested the expedited approval of the draft law to criminalize normalization with the Zionist enemy," emphasizing that "this battle is different from all previous battles, and this momentum should not be like previous ones," al-Maghzaoui told Al Mayadeen.

He affirmed that anyone who wants to stand with the Palestinian people must support the resistance, arm it, provide financial assistance, and open the borders to the masses "because this is a time of jihad, not a time for summits. Either the resistance will prevail and liberate Palestine, or the enemy will prevail and advance into all Arab countries."

The Tunisian official concluded by explaining that the Palestinian people realize that they have a Resistance capable of liberating the land and are standing strong in the face of Israeli shelling, refusing to be forcibly displaced.

Tunisia witnessed massive demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people and the Resistance.

The "Cairo Peace Summit" is said to address ceasefire measures, assaults on Gaza residents, the prisoners' file, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians, as well as "reviving the peace process based on the two-state solution and the 1967 borders."

Algerian media noted that Algeria does not take part in meetings where the Israeli occupying entity is involved, especially concerning the Palestinian cause, contributing to an understanding of the background of the decision.

Several thousand people rallied in Algiers and across the country on Thursday in support of Gaza and to denounce the Israeli occupation's ongoing aggression on the Strip.

Throughout the capital, Palestinian flags were flying everywhere alongside Algerian flags, with the march there and in other locations across the country broadcast on public and private television channels.

Traditionally a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, Algeria has canceled all cultural events in a show of solidarity with Gaza, including the annual festivities of November 1 when it marks the outbreak of the 1954-1962 Algerian revolution against French colonization. It has also suspended all football matches "until further notice".