Palestine, Algeria reject the African Union’s decision to grant Israel observer status

The Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Saturday stressed  his country’s rejection of the African Union’s (AU) decision to grant Israeli the observer status, calling on the AU to withdraw this status.

WAFA News Agency quoted Shtayyeh as saying during the AU summit held in Adis Ababa, that accepting Israel as an observer in the AU will be an unmerited reward for its violations and its apartheid policy towards the Palestinian people.

He stressed that the peoples of the African continent know well the destructive and inhuman policies pursued by the Icolonialism and the apartheid systems, pointing out that this decision is actually a reward that encourages Israel to continue violating international treaties.

On his part, the Algerian foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra renewed his country’s rejection of the AU’s decision which has been made without prior consultations with members of the union.

 Making this decision has created division inside the union, he affirmed, stressing that Algeria will continue to support the Palestinian cause.

Last July, President of the Commission of the African Union Mousa Faqi Mohammad agreed to grant Israel the observer status in the AU’s 55-member commission, stirring strong rejection by several African countries.

Hamda Mustafa