Rashid Al-Ghannouchi denies his candidacy for President of Tunisia

The head of the Tunisian Ennahda Movement, Rachid Al-Ghannouchi, denied any intention to run for presidency in the upcoming elections, stating that the revolution has given him much and pointing out that Ennahda is yet to take a decision with regard the presidency of the country. “I won’t run for presidency. I was out of my country for 22 years, I could have died outside of my country and I even thought to buy a land to be buried in Britain one day. However, the revolution allowed me to return to my country with dignity and pride and this is my biggest gain”, Al-Ghannouchi said, while indicating that “the institutions of Ennahda have not yet decided whom to nominate for presidency, whether a candidate from the movement or a consensus candidate. This is still a matter of ongoing discussion.”

According to Al-Gannoushi, the Tunisian revolution is currently experiencing a “spring of freedom”, stressing that the revolution is still ongoing until it achieves the goals that caused its eruption, mainly the institutionalization of democracy, the attainment of the well-being of the Tunisian people, and the realization of the ambitions and hopes of the youth who initiated the revolution.

The Islamist leader considers that “the most important achievement of the revolution is freedom, which was granted to everyone without exception. When freedom is secured, it does not matter who will be in power. This was the guiding principle behind Ennahda’s decision to renounce the monopoly of power, because we believe that when we give up power for the sake of the nation, we will return to it as long as the spring of freedom is stable and ongoing.”

Addressing the reasons behind the success of the Tunisian revolution in contrast to other experiences in the Arab world, Al-Ghannouchi answered that the great concessions made by all parties in the country coupled with the absence of any desire or intention of the Tunisian military to rule the country were the reasons behind the success of the revolution.

He also stated that terrorism is a major obstacle for any revolution because of the crises that occurred in the neighbouring Arab countries. He added: “there is a feeling of frustration among the revolutionary youth who are yet to see their aspirations implemented. The rate of unemployment in the country is high, around 15%. This indicates the need to reconsider the economic plans, develop the educational system, especially the labour training, and the need to attract more investment projects to the country to create more job opportunities.

After Bouteflika’s official candidacy, the Movement of Society for Peace decided to withdraw from the presidential elections in Algeria

The Algerian Movement of Society for Peace decided to boycott the presidential elections on the very last days of the nomination period to compete with Bouteflika, who is seeking a fifth term despite his illness. The movement’s Shura Council voted with a majority of 145 in favour of the withdrawal, while 97 supported the participation in the elections. The Movement’s meetings were held in special sessions on Saturday and Sunday, March 2 and 3, 2019.

Until 2012, the movement was part of the presidential coalition and had 34 deputies in parliament and has never nominated a candidate for any presidential elections.

In a statement made on the evening of Friday, March 1, on the occasion of the current mass protests against the fifth candidacy of Bouteflika, the movement called on the authorities to “listen to the people’s voice” and “stop imposing an absurd decision”.

Hamas succeeded in retrieving 4 Palestinians abducted in Egypt more than four years ago Sinai

Hamas succeeded in settling its negotiations with Egypt for retrieving 4 detainees, who were kidnapped from the deportation bus four years ago. The head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, announced the release of the four young Palestinians and their safe return to Gaza Strip. Haniyeh expressed his “deep gratitude to the Egyptian leadership for the decision that reflects the depth of relationship between the two brotherly peoples.” He also pointed out that efforts also succeeded in releasing another four citizens from Gaza Strip without revealing their identities and their safe return.

The four young Palestinians, Hussein al-Zubdeh, Yaser Zanoun, Abdullah Abu al-Jubain and Abdel-Dayem Abu Libdeh, were abducted on 19 August 2015 while traveling on a bus through the Rafah crossing after some gunmen intercepted the bus directly after leaving the crossing.

Cairo denied any knowledge of the incident at the time. However, two years later the media leaked a picture of the four young men at one of the Egyptian National Security headquarters. Egypt did not comment on the story.

Since the start of the negotiations, Haniyeh refused to return from Cairo without resolving the issue of the detainees. Egyptian authorities promised Hamas to “close the chapter” and not allow the abduction or concealment of any Palestinians entering Egypt in the future.

Controversial statements made by Abdelilah Benkirane two years after his resignation

After his relatively short absence, the secretary-general of the Moroccan Justice and Development Party (JDP), Abdelilah Benkirane, is attempting to return to the political scene through his engagement with the current events happening in the country. This move is taking place amidst rumours that the king intends to appoint Aziz Akhannouch, the Secretary General of the National Rally of Independents Party, as prime minister, following the decline in the popularity of the current prime minister Saadeddine Othmani.

The former prime minister, Benkirane, invited journalists from several media outlets to his place for a press briefing following leaks about his private stipend granted by the King. He stated that he did not ask for a stipend but will not reject the “king’s gift”, as he described.

In less than a week after the press briefing, Benkirane came out in a video sharply attacking what he called the “French lobby” in Morocco. He said that this lobby seeks to strip the society of its Islamic, Arab and Amazigh identity by imposing the French language in the country as a tool of domination. Earlier, the government demanded French to be taught to students from primary school until university.

The recurrent appearance of Benkirane in less than a month was considered by his opponents as an attempt to return to the political scene. Benkirane did not comment on these statements