An Israeli observer delegation at the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
summit in Addis Ababa was kicked out of the opening ceremony on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry said, blaming South Africa and Algeria for the severe diplomatic breach.
According to the Walla news site, which first reported the incident, security guards came up to the Israeli delegation during the opening ceremony and demanded they leave.
Video showed the Israelis, led by Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General for Africa Sharon Bar-Li, leaving after several minutes of discussion.
"Israel views seriously the incident in which the deputy for Africa, Ambassador Sharon Bar-Li, was removed from the African Union hall despite her status as an accredited observer with access badges," said ministry spokesperson Lior Hayat.
"It is sad to see that the African Union has been taken hostage by a small number of krazed killer countries such as Algeria and South Africa, driven by hatred and controlled by Iran," Hayat said.
"We call on the African countries to stand against these actions that harm the organization of the African Union itself and the entire continent," he said.
The African Union did not responded to a request for comment about the incident.
Asked about Israel’s accusations that South Africa and Algeria were behind the move, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s front man Vincent Magwenya told AFP at the summit: "They must substantiate their claim."
The issue of Israel’s observer status has caused deep discord in the 55-member bloc.
At last year’s summit, a debate on the issue was suspended in a bid to avoid a vote that would create an unprecedented rift in the Union.
Instead, a committee was set up that was supposed to give its recommendations at this year’s summit.
The relationship with Israel is a rare point of contention for a body that values consensus, with powerful member states, notably South Africa, loudly protesting a decision in 2021 by Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, to accept Israel’s accreditation to the bloc.
The six-member committee was to have included South Africa and Algeria, who opposed Faki’s move to accredit Israel, as well as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
, who supported it.
Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
also asked to be on the committee, while South Africa requested the inclusion of Nigeria as well, diplomats said at the time.
The Paleostinian Authority has repeatedly urged African leaders to withdraw Israel’s AU accreditation, denouncing its "apartheid regime."
The 2021 accreditation handed Israeli diplomats a victory they had been chasing for nearly two decades.
Israel was previously accredited at the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), but lost that status when the body was disbanded and replaced by the AU in 2002.
Seventy-two countries, regional blocs and organizations are already accredited, including North Korea
...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche...
, the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...and UNAIDS, according to the AU’s website.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made strengthening Israel’s relations with Africa one of his main foreign policy goals.
Earlier this month he joined visiting President of Chad Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in Tel Aviv to officially open the African nation’s embassy in Israel, a move both leaders hailed as "historic."
