Tunisia Opposition Urges President to Step in over Ghannouchi’s Stances on Libya

Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
TT

Tunisia Opposition Urges President to Step in over Ghannouchi’s Stances on Libya

Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)
Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi. (Reuters)

Seven Tunisian opposition parties called on President Kais Saied to respond to recent remarks by parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouci, in wake of accusations against Tunis that it was providing “logistic support to Turkey in its aggression against Libya.”

In a joint statement, they denounced a phone call between Ghannouchi and head of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj during which they discussed the developments in Libya. They said that the fact that parliament did not disclose the details of the talks only raises more questions and criticism.

The political parties: the Workers’ Party, the Tunisia Forward Movement, the Socialist Party, the National Democratic Socialist Party, Al Qotb and the Baath movement described Ghannouchi’s move as an attempt to “bypass state institutions and drag the country into the Libyan conflict, in support of the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies.”

The statement regretted the role Ghannouchi has played on behalf of the country’s parliament, accusing him of “behaving like a member of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, through prioritizing the interests of Islamists at the expense of those of Tunisia and its people.”

Ghannouchi is head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party.

They called on Saied to intervene in his capacity as president to tackle foreign policy and pursue relations that serve Tunisia’s national security.



Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
TT

Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)

The health ministry in the occupied West Bank said one person was killed and nine injured in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp, with the Israeli military saying Saturday it had opened fire at "terrorists".

An 18-year-old man, Muhammad Medhat Amin Amer, "was killed by bullets from the (Israeli) occupation in the Balata camp" in the territory's north, the Palestinian health ministry said in a late-night statement, adding that nine people were injured, "four of whom are in critical condition".

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the raid began on Friday night and triggered violent clashes, AFP reported.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli troops entered the camp from the Awarta checkpoint and "deployed snipers on the rooftops of surrounding buildings".

In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli military said that during the "counterterrorism" operation, "terrorists placed explosives in the area in order to harm (military) soldiers, hurled explosives, molotov cocktails, and rocks and shot fireworks at the forces".

"The forces fired toward the terrorists in order to remove the threat. Hits were identified," the statement said.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified since war broke out in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Since then, at least 815 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

In the same period, Palestinian attacks in the West Bank have killed at least 25 Israelis, according to official Israeli figures.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since conquering it in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.