For the first time ever, Israel has sent an official delegation to Tunis, in part to discuss arrangements for Palestinian self-rule with officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which is headquartered there. The trip is significant because Israel and Tunisia do not have diplomatic relations. Last week, Tunisian officials were quoted as saying their government… More ▸
The apparent decision by three senior members of the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks to resign is being seen here as a reflection of deep divisions between the Palestinian leadership in the administered territories and Palestine Liberation Organization officials in Tunis. At the same time, the crisis is also being viewed by some as… More ▸
Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasir Arafat snubbed Knesset members Yael Dayan and Abdel Wahab Darawshe by canceling a weekend meeting in Tunis at the last moment. Dayan, a Labor Party member who had traveled to Tunis with Darawshe of the Arab Democratic Party, voiced disappointment that the PLO leader decided to fly off to Yemen… More ▸
In a speech before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Tunisian President Zin al-Abidine Ben Ali urged the international community to pressure Israel into stopping its “colonization of the occupied territories.” Ben Ali also urged members of the parliament to “recognize Palestinian people’s legitimate rights.” “The international community, and notably the United States and Russia, must… More ▸
Israel’s move to lift the legal ban on meetings between its citizens and officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization is being viewed around the world as a major step toward eventual negotiations between the Jewish state and the PLO. But the Israeli government takes exception to that view, even though it initiated a repeal of… More ▸
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel will fly to Tunisia directly from Tel Aviv next Thursday, after a two-day official visit in Israel. But German sources here denied that the minister was planning a meeting with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat, whose organization is based in the Tunisian capital. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin,… More ▸
The Tunisian president has received France’s chief rabbi in a special visit and used the occasion to pardon two Jewish prisoners, including a teen-ager who murdered an Arab. Rabbi Joseph Sitruk was visiting the Tunisian Jewish community on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. During his much-publicized trip, he secured the releases of the prisoners, one… More ▸
A delegation of six Israeli Arabs returned from Tunis this week after meeting with leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization in blatant defiance of an Israeli law banning such meetings. Two weeks ago, before leaving for Tunis — home to the PLO headquarters — the group said the purpose of the trip was to attend… More ▸
For the first time ever, a delegation of senior Israeli Arab leaders is making a trip to Tunis, where the Palestine Liberation Organization is headquartered. While the official purpose of the trip is to attend an annual festival in the ancient Tunisian city of Carthage, it is clear that the delegation will be meeting with… More ▸
Italian authorities are investigating the failed hijacking Sept. 19 of an Alitalia flight to Tunis. Though it appears to have been the work of a lovelorn Tunisian immigrant upset by losing his job in Italy, the authorities are not fully convinced there was not a political motive. One source of suspicion was the presence on… More ▸
