Algeria is once again being talked about, and not for good. The Algerian Parliament reportedly “refused” to chair a group within the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) as a sign of boycotting Israel.
Algeria’s attacks on Israel, an independent state recognized by the international community, continue. After severing diplomatic relations with Morocco and continuing to wage a multi-level war against it since 2021 for restoring relations with Israel, the Algerian government continues to provoke Tel Aviv at every possible opportunity and often against its interests.
The new totally idiotic gesture of Algeria towards Israel, was to refuse to take the presidency of a group within the Interparliamentary Union, simply because of the presence of Israel.
Algeria has once again stepped on the occasion to shine its parliamentary diplomacy by adopting a hostile posture, a behavior harmful to Algeria itself above all.
In a press release, the National People’s Assembly (APN), the lower house of the Algerian Parliament, was delighted to have been “elected as head of the High Level Advisory Group on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism on March 13, 2023, thanks to certain brotherly and friendly countries of the group, who supported Algeria’s candidacy” during the proceedings of the 146th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, held in Manama, Bahrain, between March 11-15.
Except that Algeria learned a few days later that these same “brother” countries which supported the candidacy of the vice-president of the APN, Mounder Bouden, validated the entry of several countries as new members of the group. Advisory Council on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism, namely Saudi Arabia, Oman, Mexico, Iran, India, Sweden and Israel.
“In the wake of this development, and after broad consultations and in accordance with Algeria’s constant positions on just causes in the world, in the forefront of which the Palestinian cause, the National People’s Assembly, represented by Vice-President Mounder Bouden has decided to step down as chair of this group and remain a member only“, said the lower house of the Algerian parliament in its press release.
Once again, Algeria has shown its belligerent nature, which rejects any contact with Israel officially, even if unofficially it maintains hidden commercial relations with this same State. The products, mostly tools, and medical equipment, are sent to France to change the label of origin to introduce them to the Algerian market.
And recently, UN statistics showed that the Arab country which exported the most to Israel in 2021 is indeed Algie, which also shows, according to the same UN data, the highest rate of evolution of exchanges with Israel over one year.