Tunisia bans entrance of Israelis

Tunisian lawmakers have banned the entrance of Israelis to the country expressing anger toward a decision by the tourism minister decision to let in a group of Israelis.

Over 80 Tunisian lawmakers signed a petition, demanding the withdrawal of confidence from Amel Karboul, who has been accused of normalizing ties with the Israeli regime.

More than 60 Israeli tourists entered Tunisia this week to attend the annual Jewish pilgrimage in the Ghriba Synagogue on Tunisia’s island of Djerba.

Karboul has defended the decision and says denying entrance to Israelis would hurt Tunisia’s economy.

Tunisian lawmaker Nejib Mrad said, “If the tourism minister is pretending to bring foreign currency, we say that we do not want her money. We prefer to starve rather than slowly normalizing relations with Zionists. Our people will never accept. We revolted against tyranny and dictatorship, as well as (Zine El Abidine) Ben Ali’s ties with Zionists. We are aware of the threat.”

Tunisians have frequently condemned the passive attitude of some Arab countries towards Israeli crimes committed against Palestinians in the occupied territories.

A Palestinian refugee in Tunisia told Press TV, “Many Arab states refuse entry to Palestinian refugees, yet they accept Zionists on their soil. They are normalizing ties with the Zionists, while we are suffering.”

Anti-Israel demonstrations have been held on several occasions in Tunisia over the past few months.

Tunisia, the birthplace of pro-democracy protests across North Africa and the Middle East, revolted against the Western-backed dictator Ben Ali in 2011.