France, Italy to Support Tunisia Control Irregular Migration

Migrants on a wooden boat are rescued by a patrol vessel of the Tunisia Navy, seen from the migrant search and rescue vessel MV Seefuchs of the German NGO Sea-Eye in the search and rescue zone south of the Al Jurf Oilfield in international waters off the coast of Libya, September 30, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
Migrants on a wooden boat are rescued by a patrol vessel of the Tunisia Navy, seen from the migrant search and rescue vessel MV Seefuchs of the German NGO Sea-Eye in the search and rescue zone south of the Al Jurf Oilfield in international waters off the coast of Libya, September 30, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
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France, Italy to Support Tunisia Control Irregular Migration

Migrants on a wooden boat are rescued by a patrol vessel of the Tunisia Navy, seen from the migrant search and rescue vessel MV Seefuchs of the German NGO Sea-Eye in the search and rescue zone south of the Al Jurf Oilfield in international waters off the coast of Libya, September 30, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
Migrants on a wooden boat are rescued by a patrol vessel of the Tunisia Navy, seen from the migrant search and rescue vessel MV Seefuchs of the German NGO Sea-Eye in the search and rescue zone south of the Al Jurf Oilfield in international waters off the coast of Libya, September 30, 2017. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi

France is ready to help cover Tunisia's remaining financing needs for 2023 and 2024, said France’s ambassador to Tunisia, André Parant, announcing that a package of 250 million euros is currently awaiting disbursement to help the country bridge its budgetary gap.

In an interview with the Tunisian news agency, TAP, the French diplomat said his country was also ready to mobilize international donors to cover the remaining financing needs.

However, he stressed that this support would depend on the “effective” implementation of the reform plan presented to the International Monetary Fund.

Tunisia's economic and budgetary situation may become “extremely complicated in the absence of an agreement with the IMF, according to Parant.

France and Italy are calling for support for Tunisia to prevent an economic collapse and to ease the pressure of migration.

“We have been telling the Tunisian authorities for months that we are at their disposal to cover the residual financing needs for 2023 and 2024,” the French ambassador said, adding that the Tunisian government's budget for 2023 shows a financial gap of around $1.5 to $1.8 billion that needs to be addressed.

The IMF expects to raise $1.9 billion over four years, which means that the first tranche to be disbursed would amount to around $500 million, Parant said.

Observers believe that Tunisia has adopted a strategy implemented by a number of countries to deal with the waves of illegal immigration.

Currently, Tunis is negotiating with the Italian side, behind it is Europe, to obtain financial support in return for monitoring its coasts and limiting the flow of migrants. Tunisian authorities expect this strategy to succeed, relying on its triumph in other countries such as Türkiye.

Meanwhile, the interior ministers of France, Germany and Italy, in addition to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, plan to visit Tunisia at the end of next April to discuss the issue of irregular migration.

With regard to this issue, the Italian side stressed that “the main problem relies with Tunisia.” Rome says the ministers in Tunis should first discuss the issue of stopping the flow of migrants.

The European delegation will present an offer of assistance and cooperation, conditioned on Tunisia’s stopping the waves of migrants.



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”