Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Saturday urged the African Union to withdraw Is-rael’s accreditation, bringing simmering tensions to a head as the 55-member bloc opened a two-day summit in Addis Ababa.
Even as the continent reels from a spate of mili-tary coups and the coronavirus pandemic, the rela-tionship with Israel is expected to figure promi-nently during the summit this weekend.
The dispute was set in motion last July when Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, accepted Israel’s accreditation to the bloc, triggering a rare dispute within a body that values consensus.
As heads of state gathered in Ethiopia’s capital on Saturday, Shtayyeh called on the body to reject Faki’s move. “Israel should never be rewarded for its viola-tion and for the apartheid regime it does impose on the Palestinian people,” he said.
“Your excellencies, I’m sorry to report to you that the situation of the Palestinian people has only grown more precarious.” The summit may see a vote on whether to back or reject Faki’s decision, which could yield an unprecedented split in the bloc.
Israel’s accreditation last year drew quick protest from powerful members, including South Africa and Algeria which argued that it flew in the face of AU statements supporting the Palestinian Territories.
Earlier Saturday Faki said the AU’s commitment to the Palestinian push for independence was “un-changing and can only continue to go stronger”.
– ‘Resurgence of military coups’ – This year’s summit comes as the continent grapples with a string of military coups and the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Four member states have been suspended by the AU’s Peace and Security Council since mid-2021 because of unconstitutional changes of government — most recently Burkina Faso, where soldiers ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore last month. Addressing African foreign ministers this week, AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat de-nounced a “worrying resurgence of military coups”.—APP
