Half of Tunisians Complain About High Cost of Living

More than half of Tunisians stated that the main problem the country suffers from is the “high cost of living,” according to the results of a survey. (EPA)
More than half of Tunisians stated that the main problem the country suffers from is the “high cost of living,” according to the results of a survey. (EPA)
TT
20

Half of Tunisians Complain About High Cost of Living

More than half of Tunisians stated that the main problem the country suffers from is the “high cost of living,” according to the results of a survey. (EPA)
More than half of Tunisians stated that the main problem the country suffers from is the “high cost of living,” according to the results of a survey. (EPA)

More than half of the Tunisians complain about the high cost of living and the deteriorating economic condition in the country, according to a survey published on Wednesday.

The Mourakiboun group, which specializes in elections, carried out the survey. It covered 1,000 voters and was held between Oct.14-24, around two months after the referendum on the new constitution on July 25.

The survey revealed that 81 percent of the citizens surveyed prefer the time before the year 2011 which witnessed the fall of the late Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime in the wake of a popular revolution.

On July 25, 2021, Tunisian President Kais Saied imposed extraordinary measures, dismissed parliament, and annulled the constitution of 2014 and other constitutional bodies.

An 81 percent of the surveyed Tunisians said that they preferred the pre-2011 period while the following period until July 2021 came second with 12 percent.

Ten percent of the surveyed preferred the period after July 2021.

Up to 78 percent of the Tunisians revealed that they see the country on the wrong track while 12 percent see that it is on the right path compared to 10 percent “who don’t know”.

In this context, 55 percent of the surveyed considered that the main problem in Tunisia is “the high cost of living” while 35 percent saw the “deterioration of the economy” as the main problem.

The uprising in the Tunisian cities against Ben Ali in the last months of 2010 demanded more job opportunities and development projects.

Although the political transition since 2011 has allowed more freedom of speech, this wasn't accompanied by effective economic reforms.

Tunisia is suffering from a severe financial crisis amid the stumbling of a $1.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The opposition accuses Saied of laying the foundation for individual rule while the latter reiterates that he wants to correct the path of revolution and fight corruption, knowing that he surprisingly won a more than 70 percent majority in the presidential elections in 2019.



Israeli Settlers Accused of Killing 117 Sheep in West Bank Attack

Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
TT
20

Israeli Settlers Accused of Killing 117 Sheep in West Bank Attack

Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta

Palestinian Bedouins accused Israeli settlers on Friday of killing 117 sheep in an overnight attack and stealing hundreds of others in an apparent effort to chase farmers off their land in the occupied West Bank.

The incident comes amid what the United Nations described this week as intensifying attacks by Jewish settlers and security forces against Palestinians in the West Bank and record mass displacements, according to Reuters.

The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment about the mass slaughter of the animals belonging to the Arab al-Kaabaneh Bedouin community, in the Jordan Valley.

Veterinarians were called in to treat a handful of sheep which had survived the knife and gun attack, some of the animals shaking uncontrollably and in apparent shock.

Salem Salman Mujahed, a resident of Arab al-Kaabaneh, said multiple groups of settlers working in coordination had orchestrated the assault, and accused the army of standing by.

"(Settlers) came near the houses. I asked them what are you doing here then we started fighting with each other," he said. "The army detained me, and they handcuffed me."

He said other groups of settlers then attacked the sheep, which are vital to his community's survival.

Palestinian Minister Moayad Shaaban condemned the incident, calling it part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians from the region.

"These sheep and animals were slaughtered and shot at," he told Reuters. "They are using these tools to terrify these people to leave these areas, which have been inhabited for dozens of years."

MOVING AWAY

The attack prompted at least one family to begin relocating.

Bedouin Tareq Kaabaneh said he could no longer withstand what he called settler intimidation.

"They were armed, they steal donkeys and sheep. In the night they come here and start shooting toward us," Kaabaneh said.

"I am moving now from here, I want to protect my kids and my sheep, my livelihood ... yesterday I was safe, but I don't know what will happen to me tomorrow," he added.

The United Nations reported this week that mass displacements in the West Bank had reached levels unprecedented since Israel first took military control of the territory nearly six decades ago.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva also said there had been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties since January - a 13% increase from the same period last year.

At least 964 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Over the same period, 53 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or in armed clashes.

The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee demanded this week a full investigation into the killing of a Palestinian American who was beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank on July 11, describing it as a "criminal and terrorist act".

The United Nations' highest court said last year that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, was illegal and should end as soon as possible.

Israel disputes this, citing security needs as well as historical and biblical ties to the land, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is among the territories Palestinians seek for an independent state.