The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a fiery response after a senior Israeli diplomat was publicly ejected from the annual summit of the African Union, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia this past Saturday.
Israeli delegation expelled from the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. pic.twitter.com/q7qGSPX3gE
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Sharon Barley, deputy director for Africa at Israel’s foreign ministry, was heading the delegation when she and at least one other Israeli were removed from the hall by security agents.
The removal allegedly came in response to a dispute over Israeli accreditation to the organization.
In response, Israel’s foreign ministry issued a strong response, saying it “takes seriously the incident in which the Israeli representative was removed from the discussion of the Organization of the African Union.
“The person in charge at the South African embassy in Israel will be summoned this week for a reprimanding conversation with the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ronan Levy,” the statement said.
“The attempt to cancel Israel’s observer status has no basis in the organization’s laws,” the foreign ministry added.
“In the round of talks held . . . by the representatives of Israel with the political members of the Organization of the African Union, there is a clear majority that supports Israel’s observer status in the organization.”
Israel held observer status in the African Union’s predecessor Organization of African Unity until 2002, when the organization dissolved itself.
Israel, which subsequently rejoined the African Union in July 2021, has relations with 46 of the AU’s 55 member states.
The badges worn by the Israeli representatives were accredited documents.
Decision to Revoke Israel’s Observer Status in African Union Postponed for a Year
One year ago, AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Fake Mahamat tabled the proposal to admit Israel as an official Observer state – a status held by the Palestinian Authority (PA) since 2013.
Report: Algeria Enlisting African Union Members to Revoke Israel’s Observer’s Status
However, South Africa and Algeria opposed the move, accusing Israel of discriminating against PA Arabs. A committee was established to continue consultations on the issue and was to present its conclusions this weekend when Algeria and South Africa succeeded in their efforts to expel Israel’s representatives.
The AU is seen as the largest and most important organization on the African continent. This year, the AU is to be chaired by the Comorian President Azali Assoumani, a known supporter of the Palestinian Authority cause, The East African reported.
A diplomatic source told the news outlet, however, that the Israeli delegation had “sneaked in with fake badges.” The news outlet did not identify its source.
