Tunisian protesters continue to lay siege to US embassy over Gaza
Tunis, Tunisia, October 7, 2024, Protesters seen holding the national flags of Palestine and Lebanon at Bab Khadhra street during the demonstration. protestors gathered at Bab Khadhra, Tunis to march through the streets of the city in protest against the war in the Middle East and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip to mark one year of the conflict in Gaza. (Photo by Hasan Mrad/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Tunisian activists have maintained a sit-in outside the United States Embassy in Tunis, demanding an end to Israel’s siege and assaults on Gaza, alongside the full reopening of border crossings, as reported by Middle East Monitor on August 1st.
The protest, titled the “Siege of the US Embassy,” began after a mobilisation by the Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine and the Tunisian Network to Confront the Normalisation System, both independent civil society organisations.
Crowds filled the embassy square, chanting against Washington’s backing of what they called a campaign of extermination.
Protest spokesperson Salah Eddine Al-Masri stated: “This protest aims to pressure the US to stop supporting Israel and push for an end to the war on Gaza and the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid.”
He confirmed plans for a renewed protest at the embassy’s main entrance, where demonstrators will hold up images of Palestinian children killed in the conflict. They intend to disrupt access to the premises as a form of escalation.
However, despite current tensions between other protestors within Tunis against the current government under President Kais Saied, the cause seemingly aligns with Saied after the Tunisian president confronted US Africa advisor Massad Boulos about Gaza.
Al-Masri emphasised the ethical stakes: halting the mass killing of Palestinians represents a duty for anyone who values dignity and human rights. He underlined the activists’ commitment: the sit-in will not end while Gaza faces hunger and death.
“This is a siege to break the siege. We refuse to accept the slow extermination of a people through hunger and isolation, aided by the US,” said Ghassan El-Hanshiri, a member of the organising committee. “We will not leave until the blockade is broken,” he declared.
Middle East Monitor, Maghrebi.org
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