Tunisia to Reopen Mosques on Monday

Members of the Tunisian security forces stand guard on Habib Bourguiba avenue in the capital Tunis on October 29, 2020, after new security measures were taken by the authorities in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. / AFP / FETHI BELAID
Members of the Tunisian security forces stand guard on Habib Bourguiba avenue in the capital Tunis on October 29, 2020, after new security measures were taken by the authorities in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. / AFP / FETHI BELAID
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Tunisia to Reopen Mosques on Monday

Members of the Tunisian security forces stand guard on Habib Bourguiba avenue in the capital Tunis on October 29, 2020, after new security measures were taken by the authorities in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. / AFP / FETHI BELAID
Members of the Tunisian security forces stand guard on Habib Bourguiba avenue in the capital Tunis on October 29, 2020, after new security measures were taken by the authorities in a bid to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. / AFP / FETHI BELAID

The Tunisian Minister of Religious Affairs, Ahmed Adhoum, announced during a press conference that mosques will reopen starting Monday, November 23.

He further called for full compliance with protective measures to stem the spread of the pandemic.

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of five religious officials, while 105 contracted the virus, the minister said.

Tunisia has more than 81,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with above 56,000 recoveries and 2,445 deaths. A total of 1,542 were admitted to hospitals, of which 272 in ICU and 138 patients on ventilators.

In the same context, Health Minister Fawzi al-Mahdi said that the authorities will lend an ear to the concerns of several social and economic sectors including restaurants, cafes, and mosques.

The health minister noted that a full lift of the extraordinary health restrictions is unlikely in the meantime.

The scientific committee to combat the coronavirus revealed that restrictions could be eased in case of achieving slight progress. The committee will carry out an assessment after two weeks and will take the necessary decisions based on the outcome.

Dr. Zakir Laheeb stated that Tunisia has witnessed progress in its fight against the pandemic, lauding the prompt measures taken by the Tunisian authorities. Tunisia saved the lives of at least 3,000, according to Laheeb.

The country was recording 50-60 deaths on a daily basis in Oct. but this caseload dropped to half, he added.

Tunisia introduced new COVID-19 restrictions in a bid to slow the rate of new cases from Oct. 29 until Mid-Nov. It extended these measures for three more weeks.

Among the procedures are night-time curfew and a ban on inter-region travel. Cafes and restaurants are to shut from 4:00 pm, and gatherings of more than four people are banned in public spaces, excluding on public transport.



Gaza Civil Defense Describes Medic Killings as 'Summary Executions'

A video recovered from the phone of one of the slain aid workers, released by the Red Crescent, appeared to contradict the Israeli military's account - AFP
A video recovered from the phone of one of the slain aid workers, released by the Red Crescent, appeared to contradict the Israeli military's account - AFP
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Gaza Civil Defense Describes Medic Killings as 'Summary Executions'

A video recovered from the phone of one of the slain aid workers, released by the Red Crescent, appeared to contradict the Israeli military's account - AFP
A video recovered from the phone of one of the slain aid workers, released by the Red Crescent, appeared to contradict the Israeli military's account - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency on Monday accused the Israeli military of carrying out "summary executions" in the killing of 15 rescue workers last month, rejecting the findings of an internal probe by the army.

The medics and other rescue workers were killed when responding to distress calls near Gaza's southern city of Rafah early on March 23, days into Israel's renewed offensive in the Hamas-run territory, AFP reported.

Among those killed were eight Red Crescent staff members, six from the Gaza civil defense rescue agency and one employee of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA and Palestinian rescuers.

"The video filmed by one of the paramedics proves that the Israeli occupation's narrative is false and demonstrates that it carried out summary executions," Mohammed Al-Mughair, a civil defense official, told AFP, accusing Israel of seeking to "circumvent" its obligations under international law.

Following the shooting, the Red Crescent released a video recovered from the phone of one of the victims. It does not show executions, but it does directly contradict the version of events initially put forward by the Israeli military.

In particular, the video shows clearly that the ambulances were travelling with sirens, flashing lights and headlights on. The military had claimed the ambulances were travelling "suspiciously" and without lights.

- Operational failures -

The incident drew international condemnation, including concern about possible war crimes from UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk.

An Israeli military investigation into the incident released on Sunday "found no evidence to support claims of execution" or "indiscriminate fire" by its troops, but admitted to operational failures and said it was firing a field commander.

It said six of those killed were militants, revising an earlier claim that nine of the men were fighters.

The dead, who were buried in sand by Israeli forces, were only recovered several days after the attack from what the UN human rights agency OCHA described as a "mass grave".

The Palestine Red Crescent Society denounced the report as "full of lies".

"It is invalid and unacceptable, as it justifies the killing and shifts responsibility to a personal error in the field command when the truth is quite different," Nebal Farsakh, spokesperson for the Red Crescent, told AFP.

The Israeli investigation said there were three shooting incidents in the area on that day.

In the first, soldiers shot at what they believed to be a Hamas vehicle.

In the second, around an hour later, troops fired "on suspects emerging from a fire truck and ambulances", the military said.

The probe determined that the fire in the first two incidents resulted from an "operational misunderstanding by the troops".

In the third incident, the troops fired at a UN vehicle "due to operational errors in breach of regulations", the military said.