Tunisia party accuses authorities of allowing Israelis to attend sports event

The Republican Party of Tunisia has accused local authorities of allowing Israelis to participate in an unnamed sports tournament scheduled to take place in the city of Hammamet, adjacent to the capital, Tunis.

“At a time when the Zionist enemy is escalating its attacks on the Palestinian people and their sanctities, and after the assassination of the martyr Shireen Abu Akleh (…), the authority of July 25, in an attempt to break its international isolation, took unauthorised normalisation steps,” the party said in a statement yesterday.

It added that authorities recently received “Zionist delegations” in the city of Djerba under the cover of “religious visit” to El Ghriba Synagogue.

READ: Tunisia Minister rejects accusations of normalising relations with Israel

The party said the Tunisian authorities are trying to open the door to normalising relations with Israel through sports by allowing “Zionist settlers” to participate in sports tournaments in the city of Hammamet.

It went on to denounce the normalisation steps, saying “full responsibility” lay in the hands of President Kais Saied for this systematic policy which “undermines” national sovereignty and represents a “stab” in the back of Palestinians.

The party called on all Tunisians to “confront every attempt to penetrate the Tunisian national arena, and to prevent every sporting event which includes Israelis”, calling on the authorities to “cancel the sports tournament” scheduled in the city of Hammamet, and deport Israelis who were allowed to participate.

It also called for “the enactment of a law criminalising normalisation in all its forms with the Zionist occupation state.”

This comes amid ongoing controversy over the “Jewish pilgrimage” season to the Djerba Synagogue, which ended a few days ago, and witnessed the participation of hundreds of Israelis, as well as figures known for supporting normalisation with Israel.