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Heart of Tunisia Proposes 'National Salvation Initiative'

Habib Bourguiba Avenue empty shortly before a night curfew imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus, in Tunis. (AFP)
Habib Bourguiba Avenue empty shortly before a night curfew imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus, in Tunis. (AFP)
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Heart of Tunisia Proposes 'National Salvation Initiative'

Habib Bourguiba Avenue empty shortly before a night curfew imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus, in Tunis. (AFP)
Habib Bourguiba Avenue empty shortly before a night curfew imposed to halt the spread of coronavirus, in Tunis. (AFP)

The Heart of Tunisia opposition party called for the formation of a government of national unity that includes the largest possible number of political parties.

The party is seeking to propose this "national salvation initiative" to overcome the political crisis sparked by demands for the ouster of Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh's government and the dissolution of parliament, and as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus outbreak.

Head of the Heart of Tunisia parliamentary bloc, Osama al-Khulaifi, said the party had finalized the initiative, entitled “A National Pact to Salvage the Country from Poverty, Unemployment and Bankruptcy.”

Described it as "preemptive", he said it offers effective solutions to overcome the crises after the outbreak is over. He stressed that Heart of Tunisia consulted a number civil society and economic experts when drafting the initiative.

He noted that the political support surrounding the government is shaky and will confront many obstacles as soon as the national unity prompted by the pandemic is over.

The initiative is therefore, aimed at securing a "political and social truce" and reaching serious solutions to social and economic issues during the next five years, he explained.

Khulaifi criticized Fakhfakh for refusing to include the Heart of Tunisia in his government. This has ultimately affected political and parliamentary work, said the MP, noting that it was impossible to vote on and ratify laws without the party.

He called on the prime minister to support the national initiative, which establishes national political unity based on a socio-economic program.

Heart of Tunisia proposed its initiative as the public prosecution began looking into calls for the overthrow of the government and dissolution of parliament, which leftist parties are accused of supporting after their defeat in elections.

The leftist Popular Front coalition, led by Hama Hammami, denied the allegations.

Hammami stressed that the opposition has the right to criticize the government, calling authorities to respect the right for peaceful protest.

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Arab World

Israeli Military Changes Initial Account of Gaza Aid Worker Killings

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israeli Military Changes Initial Account of Gaza Aid Worker Killings

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military has provided new details that changed its initial account of the killing of 15 emergency workers near the southern Gaza city of Rafah last month but said investigators were still examining the evidence.

The 15 paramedics and emergency responders were shot dead on March 23 and buried in a shallow grave where their bodies were found a week later by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Another man is still missing.

The military initially said soldiers had opened fire on vehicles that approached their position "suspiciously" in the dark without lights or markings. It said they killed nine fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad who were travelling in Palestinian Red Crescent vehicles.

But video recovered from the mobile phone of one of the dead men and published by the Palestinian Red Crescent showed emergency workers in their uniforms and clearly marked ambulances and fire trucks, with their lights on, being fired on by soldiers.

The only known survivor of the incident, Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic Munther Abed, also said he had seen soldiers opening fire on clearly marked emergency response vehicles.

An Israeli military official said late on Saturday the investigators were examining the video and conclusions were expected to be presented to army commanders on Sunday.

Israeli media briefed by the military reported that troops had identified at least six of the 15 dead as members of the groups. However, the official declined to provide any evidence or detail of how the identifications were made, saying he did not want to share classified information.

"According to our information, there were terrorists there but this investigation is not over," he told reporters at the briefing late on Saturday.

The UN and the Palestinian Red Cross have demanded an independent inquiry into the killing of the paramedics.

Red Crescent officials have said 17 paramedics and emergency workers from the Red Crescent, the Civil Emergency service and the UN had been dispatched to respond to reports of injuries from Israeli air strikes.

Apart from Abed, who was detained for several hours before being released, another worker is still missing.

OPENED FIRE

The military official said initial findings from the investigation showed troops had opened fire on a vehicle at around 4 a.m., killing two members of the Hamas internal security forces, and taking another prisoner, who the official said had admitted under interrogation to being in Hamas.

As time passed, several vehicles passed along the road until, at around 6 a.m., he said troops received word from aerial surveillance that a suspicious group of vehicles was approaching.

"They feel this is another incident like what happened at 4 a.m. and they opened fire," the official said.

He said aerial surveillance footage showed the troops were at some distance when they opened fire, and he denied reports that the troops handcuffed at least some of the paramedics and shot them at close range.

"It's not from close. They opened fire from afar," he said. "There's no mistreatment of the people there."

He said the soldiers had approached the group they had shot, identifying at least some of them as fighters. However, he did not explain what evidence had prompted the assessment.

"And in their eyes, they had an encounter with terrorists, that is a successful encounter with terrorists."

He said the troops had informed the UN of the incident on the same day and initially covered the bodies with camouflage netting until they could be recovered. UN officials did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

"There was no incident where the Israeli army tried to cover up. On the contrary, they called the UN immediately."

Later, when the UN did not immediately come to take the bodies, the soldiers covered them with sand to stop animals from getting at them, the official said.

He said the vehicles were pushed out of the way by a heavy engineering vehicle to clear the road but he could not explain why the vehicles were crushed by the engineering vehicle and then buried.