TUNIS: Rached Ghannouchi, a prominent Tunisian opposition leader and vocal critic of President Kais Saied, is set to commence a hunger strike while in detention, as stated in a release from his Islamist Ennahda party on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ghannouchi, aged 82, has been behind bars since April, facing charges related to a funeral eulogy he delivered last year for a member of his Ennahda party. During the eulogy, he asserted that the deceased \u201cdid not fear a ruler or tyrant, he only feared God.\u201d Subsequently, a Tunisian judge sentenced him in absentia last May to a one-year prison term on charges of incitement, according to his lawyer, Monia Bouali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to these charges, the leader of the Islamist Ennahda party is accused of conspiring against state security, along with other detained opposition figures who have accused President Saied of orchestrating a coup by dissolving the elected parliament and governing by decree.President Saied, who legitimized his expanded powers through a low-turnout referendum last year, has consistently denied that his actions constituted a coup. He has argued that these measures were necessary to rescue Tunisia from years of turmoil. Saied has also branded his critics as criminals, traitors, and terrorists, cautioning that any judge who releases them would be seen as aiding and abetting these individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ghannouchi, who was once a political prisoner and lived in exile before the 2011 revolution that ushered in democracy, held the position of parliament speaker following the 2019 elections until President Saied deployed military tanks to shutter the legislative chamber in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout this year, law enforcement authorities have apprehended over 20 political figures, including Ghannouchi, on charges of conspiring against state security. Palestinian officials in Ramallah have criticized a recent US congressional hearing, which accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) of supporting violence against Israelis in the occupied West Bank, calling it \u201cmisleading and unfair.\u201d The hearing, held by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, focused on the implementation of the Taylor Force Act, a 2018 law that prohibits the provision of US financial aid to the PA, claiming the authority \u201crewards Palestinians to murder Israeli citizens.\u201dCritics pointed out that only supporters of Israel were invited to attend the hearing, leading to accusations of bias. Joe Wilson, a Republican member of the House of Representatives who chaired the subcommittee, accused the Palestinian government of operating a system of \u201cpay to slay,\u201d where Palestinians are allegedly rewarded for killing Israelis. Palestinian officials vehemently denied these allegations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eliot Abrams, a pro-Israel former deputy assistant to the president, and several other subcommittee members accused the PA of participating in a system that \u201chonors and rewards terrorists.\u201d Representatives from right-wing, pro-Israel US organizations echoed these claims and called on President Joe Biden to halt financial aid to Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Palestinian officials refuted these allegations as \u201ctotally untrue\u201d and \u201cmisleading.\u201d Qaddura Fares, the Palestinian minister of detainees\u2019 affairs, criticized the one-sided nature of the hearing, emphasizing that Palestinians were neither invited to present their side of the story nor consulted. He argued that for the sake of balance and fairness, the subcommittee should have involved Palestinian officials or their representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fares explained that the welfare-payment system for families of individuals killed or imprisoned by Israel, which forms the basis of the \u201cpay to slay\u201d allegations, operates in compliance with Palestinian law. According to this law, the government is obligated to provide financial support to families that lose their breadwinners due to Israel\u2019s actions as an occupying state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wasel Abu Yousef, a senior Palestine Liberation Organization official, criticized successive US administrations and Congress for allegedly covering up Israeli crimes against Palestinians rather than supporting peace and security for both sides. He emphasized the importance of financial and moral support for the families of martyrs and detainees who have suffered at the hands of the Israeli occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abu Yousef provided sobering statistics, stating that 260 Palestinians have died as a result of Israeli actions so far this year, with about 220 killed last year. Fares added that there are approximately 5,200 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including 1,200 administrative detainees held without charge or trial and 170 children under the age of 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fares noted that only around 10 percent of Palestinian prisoners, roughly 500 individuals, are serving life sentences in Israeli prisons for their involvement in the killing of Israeli citizens. In accordance with Palestinian law, Fares argued that the families of these prisoners should not bear responsibility for their relative\u2019s crimes or be deprived of government-provided social support services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jibril Rajoub, a senior Fatah official, concluded that Palestinian support for the families of martyrs and detainees would only end when the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land comes to an end. He criticized some members of the US Congress for seemingly prioritizing the support of Israeli occupation over achieving equitable peace between the two peoples, emphasizing the sensitivity of this issue for the Palestinian people and their ongoing struggle for freedom and an end to the Israeli occupation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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