ADDIS ABABA
\nPalestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Saturday urged the African Union (AU) to withdraw Israel\u2019s accreditation, bringing simmering tensions to a head as the 55-member bloc opened a two-day summit in Addis Ababa.
\nEven as the continent reels from a spate of military coups and the Covid-19 pandemic, the relationship with Israel is expected to figure prominently during the summit this weekend.
\nThe row broke out last July when Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, accepted Israel\u2019s accreditation to the bloc, triggering a rare dispute within a body that values consensus.
\nAs heads of state gathered in Ethiopia\u2019s capital on Saturday, Shtayyeh called on the body to reject Faki\u2019s move.
\n\u201cIsrael should never be rewarded for its violation and for the apartheid regime it does impose on the Palestinian people,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cYour excellencies, I\u2019m sorry to report to you that the situation of the Palestinian people has only grown more precarious.\u201d The summit may see a vote on whether to back or reject Faki\u2019s decision, which could yield an unprecedented split in the bloc.
\nIsrael\u2019s accreditation last year drew protest from powerful members, including South Africa and Algeria which argued that it flew in the face of AU statements supporting the Palestinian territories.
\nFaki said the AU\u2019s commitment to the Palestinian push for independence was \u201cunchanging and can only continue to go stronger\u201d.
\nHe defended Israel\u2019s accreditation, saying it could be \u201can instrument in the service of peace\u201d while calling for \u201ca serene debate\u201d on the issue.
\nThe summit comes as the AU faces mounting pressure to push for a ceasefire in host country Ethiopia, where a 15-month war has killed thousands of people and, the UN says, driven hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation.
\nThe conflict pits Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed\u2019s government against the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group.
\nIt has precipitated a rapid deterioration in ties between Abiy, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Western powers who once saw him as a reformer but have condemned alleged massacres and mass rape committed during the conflict by Ethiopian and allied forces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ADDIS ABABA Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Saturday urged the African Union (AU) to withdraw Israel\u2019s accreditation, bringing simmering tensions to a head as the 55-member bloc opened a two-day summit in Addis Ababa. Even as the continent reels from a spate of military coups and the Covid-19 pandemic, the relationship with Israel is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-242967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n