Tunisia: Parties, Movements Form Coalitions Ahead of Elections

Tunisian elections (AFP)
Tunisian elections (AFP)
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Tunisia: Parties, Movements Form Coalitions Ahead of Elections

Tunisian elections (AFP)
Tunisian elections (AFP)

Mohsen Marzouk, head of “Tunis Project” signed a political alliance with head of “Nidaa Tounes – Clan Hammamet” Selma Elloumi, few months ahead of Tunisia’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

Ruling party’s other wing, “Nidaa Tounes – Montaser”, is chaired by Hafedh Caid Essebsi, son of the current Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi.

The agreement provides a start to a unifying path that combines both “Nidaa Tounes – Hammamet” and “Tunis Project” and opens up to all political forces and national figures in preparation for the forthcoming polls.

Elloumi, former head of Presidential Diwan, said that the political alliance requires full integration of the two parties and their parliamentary blocs.

She pointed out that a press conference will be held Tuesday to provide more details on the unilateral path and the agreement between both parties, noting that they are currently finalizing the agreement.

Following the announcement of the coalition, the two parties are expected to become represented by a single parliamentary bloc formed of 52 deputies, with 37 representing Nidaa and 15 for Tunis Project.

In related news, Sec-Gen of the opposition Republican Party Issam Chebbi confirmed the formation of a new electoral alliance of the Republican Party with “al-Massar Democratic and Social Party”, “Movement of Socialist Democrats” and “Qaderoon Initiative” along with a number of independent figures.

Chebbi said they will reveal this week all the details of the alliance and its political and electoral objectives.

In other news, Bouhajla in Kairouan province, central Tunisia, witnessed protests and riots against the backdrop of the death of a Tunisian, 60, inside a security facility.

The prosecution in the Court of First Instance in the Kairouan ordered an investigation into the events and the circumstances leading to the death of the civilian after his health deteriorated inside a police station.



Netanyahu Says Israel Won't Stop Striking Hezbollah

Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Netanyahu Says Israel Won't Stop Striking Hezbollah

Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is striking Lebanon’s Hezbollah “with full force” and won’t stop until its goals are achieved.

Netanyahu spoke as he landed in New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly meeting and as US, European and some Arab officials were pressing for a 21-day halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to give time for negotiations.

Netanyahu said Israel’s “policy is clear. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force. And we will not stop until we reach all our goals, chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes.”

He added that he approved the “targeted killing operation” of the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit in south Beirut Thursday.

Israel has dramatically escalated strikes in Lebanon this week, saying it is targeting Hezbollah. Israeli leaders have said they are determined to stop more than 11 months of cross-border fire by the group into Israel, which has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from communities in the north.