Tunisia's president claims Storm Daniel is evidence of 'Zionist movement' agenda
Tunisian president also rules out possibility of normalized relations with Israel, calling the Abraham Accords 'a betrayal of the Palestinians'
Tunisia’s President Kais Saied incited an anti-Semitic trope, accusing the “Zionist movement” of being behind the naming convention for Storm Daniel which killed thousands in Libyans and dozens in other countries of the Mediterranean region.
"Regarding Storm Daniel, they didn't even bother to question the origin of this name,” the Tunisian President said in a government meeting, stating “who's Daniel? He's a Hebrew prophet.”
Storm Daniel hit the eastern part of Libya on September 10, causing floods that killed more than 3,300 people, mostly in the coastal city of Derna, according to the latest official toll.
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During the government meeting on Monday, the Tunisian president stopped short of blaming the Jewish people or Israel for the actual storm, saying he had no problem “with the Jews” but only with “the worldwide Zionist movement.”
“The Zionist movement has crept in, leaving minds and all thought in a complete intellectual coma,” Saied incited, using an anti-Semitic trope regarding Jews and Zionists.
It should be noted that the name was given by Greece's Hellenic National Meteorological Service based on a system shared with other European weather services. The storm had hit Bulgaria, Turkey and the Greeks before it had reached the North African coastal countries.
Israel is part of various national authorities which coordinate unique names in alphabetical order for weather depressions with forecasts of moderate to severe impact. However, the list of others names used, besides Names, can show the falsity in the statement. The list includes Ariel, Barbara, Cleon, Elias, Fedra, Guy, Helena, Ionas, Jasmin and Kyros.
At the same Monday meeting, the Tunisian president ruled out any possibility of normalized relations between Tunisia and Israel, calling the Abraham Accords "a betrayal of the Palestinians.”
"The normalization they're talking about doesn't even exist as a term for me. It's a high treason against the Palestinian people and their rights in Palestine, all of Palestine,” he added.