Tunisian president calls for exceptional meeting of Arab League on Gaza crisis

Tunisia’s President Moncef Marzouki has called for an exceptional meeting of the Arab League in order to put an end to Israel’s war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, to lift the Israeli siege and to rebuild the Strip, Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday.

Marzouki said in a statement that: “Tunisia has officially called for the Arab League to exceptionally convene so that all can bear their responsibility regarding lifting the siege and putting an end to the Israeli aggression in Gaza.”

The president noted that he had conducted discussions with most of Tunisia’s political parties and NGOs during the week regarding “mechanisms to support the steadfastness of the people in Gaza”.

In his statement, the president also called for Tunisians to organise popular marches on Friday night in the capital, as well as in other cities, to express solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to support them during the Israeli aggression.

“The Palestinian issue unites all Tunisians,” he said. He also condemned the “violent Israeli aggression” and hailed the “steadfastness of the Palestinians”.

Marzouki reiterated the importance of achieving a “just peace” and dismissed any “humiliating peace that is being imposed by Israel, through its military machine, on our relatives in Gaza, who are looking for dignity and an end to the aggressive siege and slow death.”

Since Israel’s war on Gaza commenced more than two weeks ago, Israeli occupation forces have killed 725 Palestinians, including 175 children, 83 women and 42 elderly. The assault has also wounded 4,519, including 1,239 children, 717 women and 167 elderly.

A key ceasefire demand of the Palestinian resistance is an end to the eight-year-long siege that Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip, which is widely perceived to be against international law.