Israeli officials said that Bin Ali has extended the invitation to Sharon.

TUNIS, March 1, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Tunisia's leading opposition parties vowed to block an invitation to a summit issued by the government to Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Ten opposition parties and human rights groups said Monday, February 28,  the visit by Sharon would bring “lasting shame” on the country, Reuters news agency reported.

“The government has to scrap the visit. Otherwise Sharon would have to walk over our bodies to reach the summit site,” Nejib Chebbi, head of the legal opposition Democratic Progressive Party, told leaders and members from 10 opposition parties and rights groups.

The government said at the weekend about 100 government leaders including Sharon were invited to the UN-backed World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis in November.

The International Freedom of Expression Exchange, which campaigns for press freedom, last week accused Tunisia of censorship and torture and said that, barring sweeping reforms, the country was not a suitable host for the summit.

The government rejected its report and said that in Tunisia newspapers are free and torture is forbidden.

Protests

The 10 groups pledged to stage rallies and demonstrations at university campuses, party headquarters, and possibly to organize a general strike with the support of trade unions.

Opposition leaders and rights activists said that the rallies would start next Friday until the summit takes place to put pressure on the government to rescind the invitation.

That could lead to a showdown with a government that has rarely backed down from decisions under opposition pressure, according to Reuters.

“Death for us will be sweeter than to bear seeing Sharon trample our land and the dignity and principles of our country,” Chebbi said.

“The Palestinian cause is dear to our hearts. If we accept Sharon, we will have lost our dignity,” he added, vowing to “translate words into ... action.”

Mokhtar Trifi, chairman of the only legal human rights body “Tunisian Human Rights League”, said his group will host a meeting of opposition leaders and civic associations and rights activists Tuesday, March 1, to organize opposition to the visit.

Mark Regev, the spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, told the Associated Press last week that President Zine Al-Abdine Bin Ali had himself invited the hawkish Israeli premier.

Sharon’s planned trip to Tunisia would mark the first visit by an Israeli leader to that north African country, which was the longtime home of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Tunisia broke off diplomatic ties with Israel after the outbreak of the Palestinian Intifada in September 2000, although some commercial relations continue.

Observers see the visit as an attempt by the Tunisian government to curry favor with Washington, which has long pressed Arab countries to normalize relations with Tel Aviv despite public boiling.