Algeria to Reopen Land border with Tunisia

A general view of Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis, virtually deserted on the first day of a general lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ordered by Tunisia's president last Friday, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 22, 2020. REUTERS / Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo
A general view of Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis, virtually deserted on the first day of a general lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ordered by Tunisia's president last Friday, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 22, 2020. REUTERS / Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo
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Algeria to Reopen Land border with Tunisia

A general view of Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis, virtually deserted on the first day of a general lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ordered by Tunisia's president last Friday, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 22, 2020. REUTERS / Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo
A general view of Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis, virtually deserted on the first day of a general lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ordered by Tunisia's president last Friday, in Tunis, Tunisia, March 22, 2020. REUTERS / Zoubeir Souissi/File Photo

Algeria said Tuesday it would reopen its land border with Tunisia later this month, more than two years after it was shut at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have taken the joint decision to reopen the land border from July 15," said President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

He was speaking at Algiers airport alongside his Tunisian counterpart President Kais Saied, who was leaving the country after attending a huge parade marking 60 years since Algeria's independence from France.

Passengers had been blocked from crossing the border since March 2020 to stop the Covid-19 illness spreading, although cargo traffic had continued, AFP reported.

Being cut off from a neighbor of some 44 million people has dealt a serious blow to Tunisia's tourism industry.

More than three million Algerians usually visit the country every year, according to local media.

Air and sea links between the two countries were restored in June 2021.



Netanyahu: Israel Retains Right to Resume Gaza Fighting

FILED - 03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
FILED - 03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
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Netanyahu: Israel Retains Right to Resume Gaza Fighting

FILED - 03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
FILED - 03 March 2020, Israel, Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivers an address. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa

Israel retains the right to resume war in Gaza with US backing should the second stage of the ceasefire prove pointless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

"If we must return to fighting we will do that in new, forceful ways," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

"President (Donald) Trump and President (Joe) Biden have given full backing to Israel's right to return to combat if Israel concludes that negotiations on Phase B are futile," he said.

The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel will go into effect Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT), mediator Qatar announced Saturday, as families of hostages held in Gaza braced for news of loved ones, Palestinians prepared to receive freed detainees and humanitarian groups rushed to set up a surge of aid.
The prime minister had warned earlier that a ceasefire wouldn’t go forward unless Israel received the names of hostages to be released, as had been agreed.

The pause in 15 months of war is a step toward ending the deadliest, most destructive fighting ever between Israel and the Hamas militant group — and comes more than a year after the only other ceasefire achieved. The deal was achieved under joint pressure from Trump and the outgoing administration of President Biden ahead of Monday's inauguration.
The first phase of the ceasefire will last 42 days, and negotiations on the far more difficult second phase are meant to begin just over two weeks in. After those six weeks, Israel’s security Cabinet will decide how to proceed.
Israeli airstrikes continued Saturday, and Gaza's Health Ministry said 23 bodies had been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours.