JERUSALEM(AFP)-On Saturday, Israel condemned the “grave” expulsion of senior diplomats from the African Union summit and accused arch-enemy Iran of coordinating the move with the help of Algeria and South Africa.
Security guards escorting the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s deputy director for Africa Sharon Bari from his AU parliament in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa have been circulating on social media.
A spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the incident as “serious” and said Barli was an “accredited observer with an immigration tag”, but AU officials denied the allegations.
“It is sad to see the African Union being held hostage by a handful of militant states driven by hate and controlled by Iran, such as Algeria and South Africa,” said a ministry spokesman.
African countries should “oppose the African Union movement and these actions that damage the entire continent,” the spokesman added.
An AU official told AFP that the diplomat who was “asked to leave” had not been invited to attend the meeting, with a non-transferable invitation only issued to Israel’s ambassador to the African Union, Aleli Admasu.
“It is regrettable that the individual in question would abuse such a courtesy,” the official said.
Asked about Israel’s accusations that South Africa and Algeria were behind the move, Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, told AFP at the summit:
“They must substantiate their claim.”
Israel attained observer status at the AU in 2021 after decades of diplomatic efforts, drawing protest from powerful members including South Africa and Algeria, which argued that it flew in the face of AU statements supporting the Palestinians.
Last year, unease flared over the accreditation of Israel as an observer at the AU, with the Palestinians — who also have an observer status at the body — urging it to be withdrawn.
The 2022 summit suspended a debate on whether to withdraw the accreditation and a committee was formed to address the issue. The conflict erupted when the head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, accepted Israel’s accreditation, sparking a rare controversy within an organization that values consensus.
The AU did not say whether Israel’s status will be discussed at this year’s summit.
Israel previously held observer status with the Organization of African Unity (OAU), but after her OAU was dismantled and replaced by the AU in 2002, attempts to regain observer status were long blocked.
