Turkey, Israel, Islamist Ennahdha Accused of Planning to Shoot Down Tunisian President's Plane

Earlier, Tunisia’s Ennahda Party called for an investigation after reports emerged that President Kais Saied was targeted for an assassination attempt by Islamist "political groups".

Turkey, Israel and Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahdha Party have been accused of plotting to assassinate President Kais Saied, according to an investigation published in the Tunisian newspaper al-Anwar. In response, Ennahdha has sued the newspaper. Israeli and Turkish authorities are yet to respond to these allegations.

Last week, the country’s media reported that an assassination attempt on the president had been foiled in one of the "coastal" cities. Saied's press office did not officially comment on the reports.

"The attempted assassination of Said was supposed to take place on May 8, 2020, when a surface-to-air missile was delivered to the city of Djerba. It was supposed to be transported to the capital to shoot down the plane with the president on board," claimed the outlet.

The newspaper also indicated that the dismissal of the governor of the province, Ben Arous, who allegedly knew about the plans being hatched, was somehow connected with the attempt on the life of the president.
The publication based its claims on information supposedly obtained from the computer of the leader of Ennahdha Party, Rached Ghannouchi.

“Rached Ghannouchi contacted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ibrahim Munir, the most senior member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (a terrorist group banned in Russia.) living in London, as well as the Israeli Mossad", the newspaper writes.

According to the outlet, an Israeli spy was recently arrested in Tunisia, allegedly entering the country with a Turkish passport and carrying a certificate of marriage to an employee of the Tunisian Ministry of Justice.
According to the newspaper, Kais Saied has been wary of air travel since March.

Supporters of Tunisia's President Kais Saied gather as a police officer stands guard near the parliament building in Tunis, Tunisia, July 26, 2021.

© REUTERS / ZOUBEIR SOUISSI

Saied earlier gave a speech directly accusing Islamist "political groups" of plotting his assassination, saying "I fear no one but God and if I die I will be a martyr", according to The New Arab media outlet. Saied said that Islamists were "assailing the reputation of women and men" and "using lies as a political tool".

‘Fraudulent Investigation’

Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi responded to the reports in al-Anwar by accusing the newspaper of spreading slander and rumors in order to further worsen the crisis in Tunisia.

"The party's lawyers have been instructed to file a lawsuit against the newspaper and the author of the fraudulent investigation as soon as possible", wrote Ghannouchi.

The reports come as Tunisian President Kais Saied suspended parliament on 24 August until further notice after initially freezing the body, dismissing his prime minister on 25 July and assuming executive authority.

TUNISIA: Crowds take to streets in Tunis tonight to celebrate President decision of dismissing Gov. , firing PM & freezing parliament.

Major political upheaval. Islamist Opposition calling it a “coup”, reports on airport & borders closures: pic.twitter.com/HSdsf1tKXU

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) July 25, 2021

​Saied's rivals condemned the move as an attack on democracy and considered it a coup. However, many people welcomed Saied's decision with celebrations in the streets.

Saied, elected in a landslide in 2019 vowing to stand up to corruption, insisted his intervention was needed to save the country from collapse. He is yet to appoint a new prime minister or announce a “roadmap” that Western countries and key political players in Tunisia are demanding.