The African Union’s chief, Moussa Faki Mahamat, announced that Israel’s observer status with the organization had been suspended, and that the country would not be invited to its weekend summit.
On Sunday, AU commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat stated, a day after the Israeli delegation was barred from attending the summit’s opening ceremony in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Abeba: “We reviewed Israel’s status as an observer in the African Union last year. Following these numerous deliberations, the conference resolved to form an ad hoc committee of heads of state to deliberate on the issue, which implies that the statute is suspended until this group can convene. As a result, we did not invite any Israeli officials to our conference “He stated.
In 2021, Moussa Faki Mahamat gave Israel observer status. The declaration prompted outrage across the African continent, with Algeria and South Africa leading the charge. Last year, a committee of heads of state was formed to consider the removal of accreditation. While the committee deliberated, the statute was suspended.
“We found that there was a person who entered the room with a badge and, naturally, we asked him to leave the premises. We are in the process of making the necessary investigations because he does not reside here, he came from Israel and when never someone arrives here, he is invited, he is invited by the chairperson of the African Union Commission. The official was not invited” added Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Following Saturday’s incident that went viral on social media, the Israeli regime accused what it called a handful of extremist states like Algeria and South Africa of being behind this action.
