Tunisia Opposition Urges President to Step in over Ghannouchi’s Stances on Libya

Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
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Tunisia Opposition Urges President to Step in over Ghannouchi’s Stances on Libya

Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)

Seven Tunisian opposition parties called on President Kais Saied to respond to recent remarks by parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouci, in wake of accusations against Tunis that it was providing “logistic support to Turkey in its aggression against Libya.”

In a joint statement, they denounced a phone call between Ghannouchi and head of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj during which they discussed the developments in Libya. They said that the fact that parliament did not disclose the details of the talks only raises more questions and criticism.

The political parties: the Workers’ Party, the Tunisia Forward Movement, the Socialist Party, the National Democratic Socialist Party, Al Qotb and the Baath movement described Ghannouchi’s move as an attempt to “bypass state institutions and drag the country into the Libyan conflict, in support of the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies.”

The statement regretted the role Ghannouchi has played on behalf of the country’s parliament, accusing him of “behaving like a member of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, through prioritizing the interests of Islamists at the expense of those of Tunisia and its people.”

Ghannouchi is head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party.

They called on Saied to intervene in his capacity as president to tackle foreign policy and pursue relations that serve Tunisia’s national security.



Ten Wounded, Including a Child, in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon

FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
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Ten Wounded, Including a Child, in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon

FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa

Ten people, including a young child, were injured in two Israeli airstrikes carried out on Sunday in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Monday.

According to a statement made by the Public Health Emergency Operations Center, “nine civilians were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Burj Rahal in the district of Tyre”.

Also, an Israeli airstrike on the town of Zrariyeh in the Sidon district left a child critically wounded.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli military unit crossed into Lebanese territory after midnight, moving from the Khallat Wardeh border area toward the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab. It has taken position there.

Despite a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel that aimed at ending over a year of conflict, Israel continues to target various parts of Lebanon particularly in the south often claiming they target Hezbollah fighters or positions associated with the group.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah agreed to withdraw from areas south of the Litani River - approximately 30 kilometers from the Israeli border - and dismantle its military infrastructure there. In exchange, the Lebanese Army and United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) were to strengthen their presence in the region.

Israel, for its part, was required to withdraw from territories it occupied during the conflict. However, it has maintained control over five strategic highlands, which Lebanon continues to demand be vacated.