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This article is an analysis of Algerian-Israeli relations. The author argues that Algeria did not come to terms with Israel largely due to the rigidity of the FLN's (Front de Liberation National) ideology and to the popularity of the Islamic parties in that country. At the same time, however, he argues that a pragmatic tendency in Algeria's foreign policy was evident since the 1960s and that political and economic reasons forced the Algerian regime to become more flexible in its attitude toward the Arab-Israeli conflict and to moderate its attitude toward Israel.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir once boasted that under his right-wing Likud government Israel managed to break the walls surrounding it by establishing diplomatic ties with most countries. A similar statement was made by former Labor Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in one of his speeches to the Knesset.1 Indeed, by the early 1990s, Israel managed to establish diplomatic ties with most countries in Asia and Africa. And when the Middle East peace process appeared to have gained momentum toward the middle of the decade, even the Muslim countries of North Africa began warming up to Israel. Morocco, Tunisia, and Mauritania became receptive to the idea of establishing diplomatic ties with Israel, and even Libya moderated its anti-- Israeli stand. Yet, despite the progress made in the peace process and the growing recognition among these countries that coming to terms with Israel was no longer as risky as it hitherto had been, Algeria remained one of the last countries to consider such a possibility. It was only when Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak met Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika at Moroccan King Hasan II's funeral, on July 25, 1999, that comments about rapprochement were made.
Why Algeria remained one of the last countries to consider the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel is the question which this article attempts to answer. It argues that Algeria's reluctance to mend fences with Israel was a consequence of several factors: Algeria's colonial legacy; the Franco-Israeli collaboration during 19541962, when Algeria fought for its independence; and the ascendancy of militant Islamic parties in that country.
Algeria's attitude toward Israel was in large measure determined by its colonial experience. The leaders of the FLN (Front de Liberation National),...