What is legacy of Arab Spring protests and uprisings as Tunisia’s president ousts PM in ‘coup’

Published

4 years ago

July 26, 2021

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Long considered one of the few success stories that sprang from the Arab Spring, Tunisia has seen its president accused of staging a coup after he sacked his prime minister and suspended parliament with the help of the army.

President Kais Saied’s dismissal of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Sunday followed violent demonstrations across the country over the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

It has led to clashes between supporters and opponents of the president in the streets of the capital, Tunis.

Mr Saied has said he will name a new prime minister, but his critics have accused him of a power grab that threatens Tunisia‘s young democracy.

Here is a look at the legacy of the Arab Spring and how protests and uprisings dramatically altered the political structure of much of the Arab world.

The Arab Spring

The Arab Spring spread across much of the Arab world from early 2010 as demonstrators rallied against the region’s dictatorial leaders in protests over corruption, poverty and oppression.

Escalating anti-government protests spilt over into uprisings and eventually civil wars in several countries as the Arab Spring spread from Tunisia to Egypt, Syria, Libya and Yemen, resulting in the ousting of the leaders in those countries, with the exception of Syria.

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It has directly contributed to the refugee crisis and the rise of the Islamic State and has seen fresh authoritarian leaders seize power in many countries, leaving many with their hopes crushed as they struggle to live under increasingly authoritarian regimes in countries beset by greater levels of poverty and unemployment.

Tunisia

The roots of the Arab Spring can be traced back to Tunisia, where Mohamed Bouazizi, a fruit seller, set himself on fire in protest after police confiscated his goods and a female officer slapped him on 17 December 2010.

Footage of his self-immolation spread across the country and led people in his home city of Sidi Bouzid to take to the streets in rage.

Within a month, protests had forced Tunisia’s authoritarian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, to flee to Saudi Arabia.

Despite the relative success of Tunisia’s revolution, the country has recently seen large protests over mass unemployment and many consider its parliament inefficient and stagnant.

These problems have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit the economy hard as infection rates soared over the summer.

Egypt

Demonstrations in Tunisia following the death of Bouazizi inspired massive protests across Egypt, leading President Hosni Mubarak to leave office within weeks.

A presidential election in 2012 gave power to President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, but Mr Morsi himself was later deposed when Egypt’s military generals seized power in 2013.

Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi then became president and imposed a police state, which has seen tens of thousands of Egyptians imprisoned and hundreds executed.

The country remains under military rule.

Syria

As unrest spread across Syria, Bashar al Assad’s government began using live ammunition against protesters, leading tensions to boil over and igniting a civil war in 2011 between the regime and rebel groups.

IS emerged from among the myriad rebel groups and expanded across the border into Iraq, where it declared a new Islamic caliphate in 2014.

Syria’s brutal decade-long civil war has seen hundreds of thousands of people killed and over 6.8 million Syrians become asylum seekers and 6.7 million displaced within the country’s borders.

Despite this, Mr Assad has managed to cling on to power with the support of Russia, Iran and Lebanon-based Shia-militant group Hezbollah, although fighting in the war-ravaged country continues and several areas remain under the control of rebels.

Libya

Similarly, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi decided to crack down on the largest protests in the country’s history with force.

The move sparked a civil war and a NATO-led coalition began conducting airstrikes in support of the country’s rebels.

Rebel forces deposed and later killed Gaddafi in October 2011. However, efforts to transition away from Gaddafi’s rule broke down and the country descended into a renewed civil war.

The internationally recognised Government of National Accord remains in control of Tripoli and the city of Misrata, while the Libyan National Army, commanded by General Khalifa Haftar, runs Benghazi and much of the oil-rich east. General Haftar’s forces are supported by Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Yemen

As protests spread throughout much of the Arab world, pressure on Yemen’s authoritarian president Ali Abdullah Saleh led him to hand power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, in 2011.

However, Mr Hadi’s presidency was beset by continuing problems of corruption, unemployment and an insurgency from the Houthi militia.

The Houthis took control of the capital, Sana’a, in 2014 and declared themselves in charge of the government. Yemen’s President, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, fled to Aden, where he continues to lead Yemen’s internationally-recognised government.

Fierce fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi group and the western-backed coalition led by Saudi Arabia has led to one of the worst famines the world has ever seen, with half of the population lacking food and almost 16 million on the brink of starvation in 2016.

Other countries affected

While the Arab Spring saw rulers deposed in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen, it also led to street protests in Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan. Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, were able to use military force to effectively end revolts before they could seriously threaten the status quo.

Legacy of the Arab Spring

While the reverberations of the Arab Spring continue to affect life in the Arab World, continuing issues including corruption, authoritarianism and poverty are likely to be exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis.

Only Tunisia’s uprising resulted in a transition to a constitutional democracy, but with the country’s president ousting his prime minister, the shift away from authoritarian rule is looking increasingly fragile.

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What you need to know about Donald Trump’s Gaza plan

Published

5 hours ago

February 5, 2025

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What you need to know about Donald Trump's Gaza plan

Donald Trump’s announcement that he wants to “develop” Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” has been described as “absurd” and “entirely unrealistic”.

During a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late on Tuesday, Mr Trump proposed that the two million people living in Gaza could be moved to Jordan, Egypt – and beyond.

Gazans hit back at Trump’s plan; US latest

While it is not clear how Gaza will be rebuilt when the current conflict between Hamas and Israel ends – it is equally uncertain how the US would come to “own” Gaza, resettle its population, and redevelop the land.

What did Trump say about the Gaza Strip?

Mr Trump described Gaza as a “demolition site” where “virtually every building is down”.

Laying out his idea of what would happen beyond an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, he proposed: “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too.”

He said America would be “responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site”, before it would “get rid of the destroyed buildings”, and “level it out”.

He envisioned an “economic development”, which he described as the “Riveria of the Middle East” – that would create thousands and thousands of jobs”.

“Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs,” he added.

The White House has described the plan as “out-of-the-box” and “visionary”.

What about the population?

Gaza’s two million people would not return to their territory under Mr Trump’s plans.

Instead, he suggested building “various domains” for them to “permanently… live out their lives in peace and harmony instead of having to go back and do it again”.

This could take the form of “numerous sites” or “one large site”, he added.

The only locations he mentioned by name were Jordan and Egypt, which he said, despite their leaders consistently refusing to resettle more Palestinian refugees, would “give us the kind of land we need to get this done”.

He described the new sites as a “beautiful area to resettle people, permanently in nice homes, where they can be happy and not shot… and killed… like what’s happening in Gaza”.

He said “neighbouring countries of great wealth” could finance them – without stipulating to what extent this would involve the US.

There were no details on whether the plans change the current US position of a two-state solution for the Israeli and Palestinian people.

Who controls Gaza – and who has occupied it in the past?

Gaza has been under the control of Hamas since 2007 – after it dominated the 2006 elections and subsequent violent clashes with fellow Palestinian group Fatah.

The area made up of Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank has a long and complicated history – with both Israel and Palestinians laying claim to various parts of it.

In 1917, the British took control of what was then known as Palestine from the Ottoman Empire.

Under the Balfour Declaration, they promised to create a Jewish homeland there.

Jewish people then began migrating to the region in large numbers – accelerated by the threat of Nazism in Europe and the Second World War, which created tension with the Palestinian people already living there.

When the United Nations was set up after the war in 1947, it proposed a partition plan – whereby roughly 45% of the land would belong to the Palestinian people and 55% to Jewish people. Jerusalem, which has particular sensitivities because of its religious significance to both sides, was proposed as a separate international territory.

This plan was never actioned – and instead – the state of Israel was declared in 1948.

The Arab-Israeli war that broke out immediately after the declaration saw 750,000 Palestinian people forced from their homes in what was known as the Nakba – or “catastrophe” in English. They were given refugee status by the UN and fled to neighbouring countries.

The Palestinians retained control of two small areas – what we now know as Gaza and the West Bank.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel occupied Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. They also took control of the Golan Heights, an area belonging to Syria. This saw hundreds of thousands more Palestinians forced from their homes.

During his first presidency, Donald Trump recognised Israel’s control of the Golan Heights.

Different groups have fought for control of Gaza since then – including Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

There was hope for a two-state solution – one Israel and one Palestine – when their leaders signed the Oslo Accords committing to peace in the region within five years.

This never materialised, however, and Gaza has become increasingly cut off from outside resources.

The UN runs refugee camps for millions of displaced Palestinians – both inside Gaza and the West Bank – and in the neighbouring countries of Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

Before the 2023 war broke out between Israel and Hamas, tensions were high among Palestinian communities as Israel continued to expand settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Trump Gaza plan ‘absurd’ and US has ‘no authority’

Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, which as fellow Arab nations support the Palestinian cause, immediately rejected Mr Trump’s ideas.

They, along with Syria and Lebanon, are already struggling to support millions of displaced Palestinians.

Hamas described the proposals as “ridiculous and absurd” in a statement from one of its officials Sami Abu Zuhri.

The Palestinian Liberation Organisation reiterated its support for a two-state solution.

Sky News Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said the plans have left politicians and diplomats across the region “speechless”.

“It’s entirely unrealistic for so many reasons,” he says.

Forcing Palestinians from Gaza would breach their right under international law to self-determination – and would constitute ethnic cleansing, he adds.

It would also, according to the chair of the UK’s Defence Select Committee, Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, require “a minimum of 50,000” US troops in the region for several years.

This would prove a “massive logistical challenge”, as US military resources in other parts of the world have to be redirected there.

It is also out of step with Mr Trump’s previous indications he wants to scale back US involvement in the Middle East – and adopt a more protectionist foreign policy.

Many Gazans have endured horrendous living conditions in the hope Gaza will be rebuilt as part of an independent Palestinian state.

As such, most would not want to leave, Bunkall says, adding: “Ask any Gazan and they will tell you it is their home, however hellish.”

The international community has been involved in the rebuilding of war-torn countries throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. In this sense, the US could be mandated as a “reconstruction power” in Gaza.

However, in cases such as post-Second World War Germany or Japan – allies handed back the territory after rebuilding – not resettled their residents elsewhere.

World

Manhunt after shooting at Brussels underground station

Published

16 hours ago

February 5, 2025

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Manhunt after shooting at Brussels underground station

Belgian police have launched a manhunt after a shooting near an underground station in the capital.

It happened outside Clemenceau metro station in Brussels at around 6.15am local time on Wednesday, according to local media reports.

Clemenceau, Trone and Gare de l’Ouest underground stations are closed to the public as police search for the perpetrators in the tunnels of the city’s metro system, The Brussels Times reported.

CCTV footage showed two people walking into the station and opening fire, according to the Reuters news agency. It said it could not immediately verify the images.

“The suspects fled in the direction of the metro station and may still be in the tunnel between the Clemenceau and Midi stations,” a police spokesperson told Belga News Agency.

“The Brussels Midi police and the federal railway police are searching the area. No one was injured in the shooting.”

Images showed emergency services, including firefighters and paramedics, at the scene and a police cordon in place.

Several tram and metro lines have also been shut on the heavily used underground system.

Clemenceau metro station is near Brussels-Midi Station – the arrival point for Eurostar trains from London and Paris.

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Trump says US will take over Gaza and all Palestinians should relocate

Published

17 hours ago

February 5, 2025

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Trump says US will take over Gaza and all Palestinians should relocate

The US will take over Gaza and “own it”, Donald Trump has said.

Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, he said the two million Palestinian people living in the territory, which he described as a “demolition site”, would go to “various domains”.

Asked about deploying US troops to fill a potential security vacuum, the president replied: “We’ll do what is necessary.”

Expanding on plans for the territory, he said the US would “develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs” and turn it into “something the entire Middle East can be very proud of”.

The president reiterated his suggestion from 25 January that Palestinians could be relocated to Egypt and Jordan – something both countries, other Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, and Palestinian leaders, have rejected.

Palestinians in Gaza could go to countries beyond Jordan and Egypt too, he said.

Follow latest: Trump accused of ‘openly calling for ethnic cleansing’

Asked whether he thought Egypt and Jordan would accept Palestinians, he said he believed they would.

But, he added: “I hope we could do something where they wouldn’t want to go back. Who would want to go back?

“They’ve experienced nothing but death and destruction.”

Saudi Arabia immediately responded, stressing its rejection of attempts to displace Palestinians from Gaza, and insisted it would not establish relations with Israel without a Palestinian state.

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Asked on what authority the US could take control of Gaza, Mr Trump told reporters he sees a “long term ownership position” which would, he claimed, bring stability to that part of the Middle East.

“This was not a decision made lightly,” he said.

“Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs.”

It would be the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

He continued: “I’ve studied it. I’ve studied this very closely over a lot of months, and I’ve seen it from every different angle.”

He does not believe Palestinians should return to Gaza because it is a “guarantee that they’re going to end up dying”.

He talked about finding a “beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like what’s happening in Gaza”.

The war, triggered by Hamas carrying out a massacre of 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage during the 7 October 2023 attacks in Israel, has temporarily stopped since the long-sought ceasefire deal came into effect on 19 January.

More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Hamas’s attack, according to local authorities.

Mr Netanyahu, the first world leader to meet Mr Trump since the pro-Israel president’s return to the White House, sat beside the Republican as he answered questions from the press.

Trump relocation call will horrify Palestinians

President Trump has a habit of saying the quiet stuff out loud. And the proud global disrupter did just that today with his breathtaking announcement. Critics will say he is either ignoring history, is indifferent to it or is ignorant of it.

But if President Trump is to be taken at face value then he is set to repeat history – the history of American occupation of the Middle East and the history of Palestinian displacement.

It would end the prospect of a two-state solution – Israelis and Palestinians living side by side on the same land. It could also wreck any prospects of diplomatic normalisation between Israel and Gulf Arab states.

Nations like Saudi Arabia wouldn’t stand for such a permanent resettlement and probably wouldn’t trust any resettlement presented as ‘temporary’ – which this is conspicuously not.

The two countries being told to take the people of Gaza – Egypt and Jordan – have firmly refused to do so. The American president seems convinced they will roll over.

Maybe though this is part of Trump’s art of the deal: to suggest something, then not follow through – and present that as a concession down the line.

There’s something else too.

Even if Israeli PM Netanyahu believes it’s a plan that can’t work and could further the cries of ethnic cleansing (it’s notable that he didn’t add his overt support to it alongside Trump) the president’s plan will certainly help him domestically where his future is fragile.

Netanyahu can dangle ‘permanent relocation’ in front of the real hardliners in his government who keep him in power.

Whatever is at play here, the announcement today will horrify Palestinians and it will delight and embolden the hardline elements of Israeli society who have dreamt of a Jewish state free of Palestinians.

‘Plans change with time’

The US president hinted he would seek an independent Palestinian state as part of a broader two-state solution to the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict.

“Well, a lot of plans change with time,” he told reporters when he was asked if he was still committed to a plan similar to the one he spelled out in 2020 that described a possible Palestinian state.

That plan proposed a series of Palestinian enclaves surrounded by an enlarged Israel, did not have the Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, but suggested a Palestinian capital on the outskirts of the city.

“A lot of death has occurred since I left and now came back. Now we are faced with a situation that’s different – in some ways better and in some ways worse. But we are faced with a very complex and difficult situation that we’ll solve,” he said.

On the likelihood of getting a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, Mr Trump said: “We are dealing with a lot of people, and we have steps to go yet, as you know, and maybe those steps go forward, and maybe they don’t.

“We’re dealing with a very complex group of people, situation and people, but we have the right man. We have the right leader of Israel. He’s done a great job.”

Mr Trump was also asked whether he should get the Nobel Peace Prize.

He said: “They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. It’s too bad. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.”