Tunisia's PM-designate Approves 18-month Political ‘Truce’

Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Hisham Mechichi is shown being sworn into a previous post as interior minister outside the capital Tunis, February 27, 2020. Fethi Belaid/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Hisham Mechichi is shown being sworn into a previous post as interior minister outside the capital Tunis, February 27, 2020. Fethi Belaid/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Tunisia's PM-designate Approves 18-month Political ‘Truce’

Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Hisham Mechichi is shown being sworn into a previous post as interior minister outside the capital Tunis, February 27, 2020. Fethi Belaid/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Hisham Mechichi is shown being sworn into a previous post as interior minister outside the capital Tunis, February 27, 2020. Fethi Belaid/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Hisham Mechichi has expressed willingness to convene with political parties represented in the parliament.

He also welcomed on Thursday all initiatives to form the new government, including a proposal made by the People's Movement for a so-called 18-month political “truce.”

During a press conference, Mechichi stressed the importance of solidarity among various ministers.

As for the government’s program, Mechichi revealed that he will draft a document, on resolving economic and social problems, to be proposed to the parliament.

Tunisian parties have expressed conditional support to Mechichi’s proposed lineup. The People's Movement introduced an initiative that aims to overcome a political trust crisis, while Tahya Tounes insisted on three conditions to back the government.

President of the Free Destourian Party (PDL) Abir Moussim, in an open letter to the PM-designate, said that PDL would give its confidence to the cabinet “if none of its members is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Head of the People's Movement Zouhair Maghzaoui called for a political accord on granting confidence to the government under the condition that the PM-designate presents a clear vision on resolving Tunisia’s economic, social, and financial problems, and amends the electoral law within 18 months.

A parliamentary session dedicated to granting a vote of confidence to the cabinet is scheduled for early next month. The government lineup includes 28 qualified and independent figures.



Lebanon Says Five Dead in Israeli Strike on Tyre City Center

A man walks on the rubble of a damaged building targeted by an Israeli military strike on 23 October, in Tyre, Lebanon, 24 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER
A man walks on the rubble of a damaged building targeted by an Israeli military strike on 23 October, in Tyre, Lebanon, 24 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER
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Lebanon Says Five Dead in Israeli Strike on Tyre City Center

A man walks on the rubble of a damaged building targeted by an Israeli military strike on 23 October, in Tyre, Lebanon, 24 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER
A man walks on the rubble of a damaged building targeted by an Israeli military strike on 23 October, in Tyre, Lebanon, 24 October 2024. EPA/STRINGER

Lebanon's health ministry said Israel struck the southern city of Tyre on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding 10 others.
An "Israeli enemy strike this morning on a building" in the center of the coastal city "led to a provisional toll of five dead and 10 wounded", a health ministry statement said.
It added that "work is ongoing to remove the rubble".
An AFP video journalist saw emergency personnel rush a survivor to an ambulance on a stretcher, while other rescuers worked to put out a heavily smoldering fire at the site, where a residential apartment block had collapsed like a pancake.
Tyre, an ancient coastal city which boasts a UNESCO World Heritage site, was subjected to heavy Israeli strikes last week, leaving swathes of the center in ruins.
Israel last month escalated air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds and sent ground forces into Lebanon, following a year of cross-border exchanges of fire with the Iran-backed group over the Gaza war.