African Union Bans Entry of Israeli Delegation on the Eve of Summit

By Al Mayadeen English

14 Feb 2024 23:55

With the start of the 37th session of the African summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the African Union banned the entry of an Israeli delegation from entering its headquarters.

On the eve of the African summit in Addis Ababa, the African Union banned an Israeli delegation from entering its headquarters.

This comes after sources in the Ethiopian capital, where the 37th African Summit began on Wednesday, confirmed that an Israeli delegation is participating secretly in this summit.

As confirmed by informed sources at the summit, the Israeli delegation arrived in Addis Ababa two days ago to conduct meetings and consultations with allies to obtain "observer" status in the African Union.

The arrival of the Israeli delegation in Addis Ababa to attend the summit marks a new attempt by "Israel" to persuade some countries to support its membership as an "observer" in the African Union, following the rejection of all prior requests.

The delegation comprises the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yaakov Blitstein, and the Director of the Africa Management Department, Amit Bayas.

The 37th African Union Summit began earlier today with a meeting at the foreign ministers' level, followed by a presidential-level meeting scheduled for next Saturday and Sunday.

The summit agenda is dominated by recurrent coups, which have amounted to around 200 attempts over the past six decades, with the majority succeeding in seizing power in some African countries. That said, the summit is being held this year with the absence of four countries due to coups: Mali, Sudan, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.

It is worth noting that on February 18, 2023, an Israeli delegation that sneaked into the African Union summit in Addis Ababa was expelled, according to sources to Al Mayadeen.

In response to the incident, Israeli media reported, citing the Israeli occupation Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the incident would be taken very seriously, claiming that the Israeli official, Sharon Bar-Lee, had all the necessary approvals to take part in the summit.

"It is unfortunate to see that the African Union has been taken hostage by a small number of extremist countries such as Algeria and South Africa, driven by hatred."

On February 6, 2022, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that the African Union suspended the decision to grant "Israel" observer status.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh had asked the African Union to revoke "Israel's" observer status as head of state from the 55-member group convened for a two-day meeting.