TUNIS: Tunisia’s parliament on Wednesday rejected a motion calling on France to apologize for crimes committed during and after colonial rule, following 15 hours of debate that ran into the night.
The motion had been put forward by the small opposition Islamist party Al-Karama, which holds 19 of the 217 seats in parliament.
The party’s lawmakers attended the session wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan: “Murder and torture, the brutality of French colonialism.”
Only 77 votes were cast in favor of the motion, far short of the 109 votes needed for it to pass — a tall order, given the deep divisions among lawmakers.
The motion called on France to apologize for “assassinations... rapes... the pillaging of natural resources” and an alleged list of “other crimes committed since 1881,” including supporting former president Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
Tunisia was a French protectorate from 1881 until it gained independence in 1956.
A year later, it was declared a republic with Habib Bourguiba as its president.
He was overthrown in a bloodless coup in 1987 following allegations that he had become senile, and after doctors declared he was unfit to rule.
Then prime minister Ben Ali was appointed president, a post he held until he was ousted in the country’s 2010-2011 uprising.
The uprising was the trigger for similar revolts that toppled autocratic leaders across the region in a wave of protest dubbed the Arab Spring.
Tunisia lawmakers reject motion on French colonial rule
https://arab.news/bwcte
Tunisia lawmakers reject motion on French colonial rule
- The motion had been put forward by the small opposition Islamist party Al-Karama
- Only 77 votes were cast in favor of the motion
Israeli military kills Palestinian teenager in occupied West Bank
- Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty
AL-MUGHAYYIR: Israeli forces killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Mughayyir on Friday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, while the military said soldiers had responded to stone throwing.
The Ramallah-based Health Ministry announced the death of 14-year-old Mohammed Al-Nassan by Israeli fire in Al-Mughayyir in a statement on Friday.
Shortly after, Israel’s military said its forces had come to the village after Palestinians “hurled stones toward Israelis, set tires on fire and blocked access routes to the area.”
The military said dozens of Palestinians were throwing stones upon their arrival, including one who posed “an imminent threat.”
“The soldiers responded by firing warning shots into the air, followed by fire to eliminate the terrorist,” the military said, adding it had set up roadblocks in the area to search for another suspect.
Amin Abu Aliya, mayor of Al-Mughayyir, said that the army raided the village when people began to exit mosques after Friday prayers.
“This young man (Nassan) was exiting the mosque where he was praying with the people, the military vehicle stopped in front of the mosque, they opened the back door and started shooting at him directly,” Abu Aliya said.
Abu Aliya added that following the incident, the army introduced a curfew for the village, closing all shops and setting up a new checkpoint at the village’s entrance.
He pointed to the heavy military presence in his village in recent months, which he said often protected Israeli settlers who recently set up nearby outposts and took land from Al-Mughayyir farmers.
In September, a settler who the military said was an off-duty soldier shot and killed a 20-year-old who the army said had thrown stones in Al-Mughayyir.
Israeli settlers in the West Bank also serve in the army, and sometimes carry their weapons with them when off duty.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
Violence there has soared since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war and has not subsided despite the truce that came into effect in October.
Since October 2023, Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Health Ministry figures.
