Presence of Israeli Journalist in Tunisia Condemned

Tunis, 20 Rabi’ul Awwal 1438/20 December 2016 (MINA) – Tunisian media organisations have condemned the arrival of an Israeli journalist into the country to cover the story about the assassinated engineer Mohamed Al-Zawari, Safa news reported yesterday.

Media sources have called for those who allowed the Israeli journalist to enter the country. The journalist, a correspondent for Israel’s Channel 10, appeared in front of the house of the late Tunisian drone engineer Al-Zawari, who was likely assassinated by Israeli Mossad.

In a statement, the General Information Syndicate, an offshoot of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), said: “The appearance of the Israeli TV correspondent in front of the house of martyr Al-Zawari in Sfax without observation is a shame that undermines the principled Tunisian stance towards the Palestinian issue,” MEMO reported.

The statement described this as an “unacceptable dangerous penetration” and called for the Tunisian government to open an investigation into how the Israeli journalists entered the country and how he was permitted to work in Tunis, stressing on the importance to punish those involved in the “dangerous” case.

Later on, the UGTT issued a separate statement describing the existence of an Israeli journalist in Tunis and broadcasting live coverage and interviewing Tunisian citizens as a “shameful security penetration.”

In the statement, the UGTT called for following up the official sides, which allowed the entrance of Israeli journalists to Tunis and issued them work permits.

Meanwhile, the Commission of the Audio and Visual Information called for taking the needed legal measures to organise the audio and visual companies and specify their relations and media activities in a way that prevents using them as an umbrella for “doubtful activities.”

Tunis Centre for Media Freedom called for the Tunisian authorities to immediately investigate the case of the Israeli journalist’s entry to the country and explain the complications around it as he and his team entered the country holding fake travel passports.

In a statement, Tunis Centre for Media Freedom said that the Israeli journalist did not introduce himself as a correspondent of an Israeli TV.

On YouTube, a video clip showing the correspondent of the Israeli TV Channel 10 Moav Vardi broadcasting live from Sfax, the birthplace of Al-Zawari, as well as from the capital Tunis.(T/P008/R07)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)