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Africa Moyo-Deputy News Editor
Palestine has welcomed the decision by the African Union (AU) to suspend debate on the accreditation of Israel as an AU observer, but implored the continent to reject the move completely.
In an interview yesterday, Palestinian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Tamer Almassri, commended the AU for the suspension of debate, but said Israel should not be granted observer status since it continues to oppress Palestinians.
“First of all, I want to say that Palestine welcomes the suspension of debate on Israel’s accreditation as an AU observer,” said Ambassador Almassri.
“But we expect the AU to be more decisive and dismiss the accreditation of the apartheid Israel State because it continues to suppress the people of Palestine.
“We hope the AU summit read the Amnesty International Report that recently described Israel as an apartheid state. But we thank the African countries that resisted the move to accredit Israel as an AU observer, leading to the suspension of the debate.”
Ambassador Almassri said the decision taken by AU Commission chairperson Mr Moussa Fakir Mahamat was “totally wrong politically, legally and morally”.
“We expect representatives of African countries to be involved more with the issues of the oppressed people of Palestine because Africa itself suffered and is still suffering from oppression,” said Ambassador Almassri.
Palestine is an all-weather friend of many African countries after it supported most of them when they were under colonialism.
Diplomatic sources say the AU suspended the debate on whether to withdraw Israel’s accreditation as an observer to the bloc to prevent a potential division of the countries.
At the beginning of the 35th AU Heads of State General Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last Saturday, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh implored African leaders to withdraw Israel’s accreditation.
PM Shtayyeh said Israel must never be “rewarded for its violation and for the apartheid regime it does impose on the Palestinian people”.
At the end of the two-day summit, AU’s newly elected Chairman, President Macky Sall of Senegal, said there was an agreement to postpone the vote until the next summit scheduled for next year.
“This issue can divide us, Africa cannot be divided,” he told journalists.
A committee has since been set up to institute further consultations on the issue.
Eight Heads of State and Government will make up the committee and will present its recommendations at the next summit.
The dispute erupted in July last year when Mr Mahamat unilaterally accepted Israel’s accreditation to the AU, sparking massive protests by many countries.
But on Sunday, Mr Mahamat said his decision was legal.
“By granting the observer status to Israel, I acted in full compliance with my prerogatives and powers. (But) I respect the decision of the summit,” he told the media.
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