The Deputy Director of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Africa, Sharon Bar-li, presents, Saturday, February 18, at the opening ceremony of the 36th summit of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), as an “observer”, was escorted out of the room, provoking the anger of the authorities of the Hebrew State.
In a statement, Israeli diplomacy denounced this incident, which it described as “serious”, and regretted “to see that the African Union has been taken hostage by a small number of extremist countries, such as Algeria and ‘South Africa, Motivated by Hatred and Controlled by Iran’.
“We call on African countries to stand up against these actions which harm the organization of the African Union itself and the entire continent,” the statement continued.
Meanwhile, the spokeswoman for the chairman of the AU Commission, Ebba Kalondo, reacting to the press release from the Israeli diplomacy, specified that only the Israeli ambassador to the AU, Aleli Admasu, had received a personal invitation to take part in the meeting.
On Sunday, the pan-African organization explained that the observer status of the Jewish state had been suspended last year, pending a decision reversing or confirming this suspension.
As a reminder, the head of the African Commission, Moussa Faki, granted observer status to Israel in 2021. Last year, following the differences caused by this initiative within the Union, a committee of heads of state was set up to examine the question.
Faki hinted to the press on Sunday that said “statute is suspended until the committee can deliberate,” confirming at the same time that Israeli officials were not invited to the summit.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1054 of 20/02/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
