Arab League Denounces Israeli Escalation in Palestine

Ahmed Aboul Gheit (The official website of the Arab League)
Ahmed Aboul Gheit (The official website of the Arab League)
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Arab League Denounces Israeli Escalation in Palestine

Ahmed Aboul Gheit (The official website of the Arab League)
Ahmed Aboul Gheit (The official website of the Arab League)

The Arab League (AL) has condemned the recent Israeli escalation in Palestine.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned in a press release on Wednesday against targeting and killing Palestinians in cold blood.

He called on the international community to intervene to protect the civilians in the occupied territories and to stop the Israeli “killing machine.”

The secretary-general’s spokesman, Jamal Rushdie, noted that the violence has increased since the beginning of this year.

In his statement published on the AL website, Rushdie said five Palestinians were killed in separate incidents by Israeli orces on Tuesday.

Aboul Gheit linked the systematic escalation to the rise of the Israeli right wing and its dominance over Israeli politics.

He warned that “highly extremist members” have preoccupied the political scene in Israel, warning that this could have “dangerous” consequences.

The secretary-general considered that jeopardizing the Palestinians’ security and depriving them of any political prospect could ignite the situation in a manner “that serves no one”.

His statement came amid the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people which falls on November 29.

The Arab League witnessed several events on this occasion in addition to the release of official statements from the UN and some countries calling for relaunching the peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.



Tunisia Groups Urge Inclusion of Rejected Candidates in Poll

FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
TT

Tunisia Groups Urge Inclusion of Rejected Candidates in Poll

FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tunisian President Kais Saied attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/Pool/File Photo/File Photo

A petition signed by prominent Tunisians and civil society groups was published on Saturday urging that rejected candidates be allowed to stand in the October 6 presidential election, Agence France Presse reported.

Signed by 26 groups including Legal Agenda, Lawyers Without Borders and the Tunisian Human Rights League, it welcomed an administrative court decision this week to reinstate three candidates who had been disqualified.

They are Imed Daimi, who was an adviser to former president Moncef Marzouki, former minister Mondher Zenaidi and opposition party leader Abdellatif Mekki.

The three were among 14 candidates barred by the Tunisian election authority, ISIE, from standing in the election.

If they do take part, they will join former parliamentarian Zouhair Maghzaoui and businessman Ayachi Zammel in challenging incumbent President Kais Saied.

Saturday's petition was also signed by more than 180 civil society figures including Wahid Ferchichi, dean of the public law faculty at Carthage University.

It called the administrative court "the only competent authority to adjudicate disputes related to presidential election candidacies.”

The petition referred to statements by ISIE head Farouk Bouasker, who on Thursday indicated that the authority will soon meet to finalize the list of candidates, "taking into consideration judicial judgements already pronounced.”

This has been interpreted as suggesting the ISIE may reject new candidacies if they are the subject of legal proceedings or have convictions.

The administrative court's rulings on appeals "are enforceable and cannot be contested by any means whatsoever,” the petition said.

It called on the electoral authority to "respect the law and avoid any practice that could undermine the transparency and integrity of the electoral process.”