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.



Israeli Military Says Tuesday’s Strike on Gaza Building Was Targeted

 People search the rubble for missing persons at the site of an Israeli strike a day earlier that hit the Al-Loh family home in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
People search the rubble for missing persons at the site of an Israeli strike a day earlier that hit the Al-Loh family home in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Israeli Military Says Tuesday’s Strike on Gaza Building Was Targeted

 People search the rubble for missing persons at the site of an Israeli strike a day earlier that hit the Al-Loh family home in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
People search the rubble for missing persons at the site of an Israeli strike a day earlier that hit the Al-Loh family home in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

An Israeli military official says the target of Tuesday’s attack on a five-story building that Gaza health officials reported resulted in scores of deaths was a spotter with binoculars in the building, and that the intent was not to destroy the structure.

The military official agreed to provide details only on condition of anonymity, citing military protocol and the ongoing investigation into the incident.

The official said Wednesday the building was not known to be a shelter for civilians, and that it collapsed as a result of the strike on the spotter.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Tuesday that at least 70 people were killed in the first of two strikes on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia, and that more than half of the victims were women and children. The Israeli military had earlier said it was investigating the strike. The Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty tolls do not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

The official said there were discrepancies between the numbers of victims reported by authorities in Gaza and what Israeli intelligence indicates, and that the victims included known fighters. The official did not provide detailed evidence to support that assertion.

The Israeli military has repeatedly struck shelters for displaced people in recent months. It says it carries out precise strikes targeting Palestinian fighters and tries to avoid harming civilians, but the strikes often kill women and children.