The Executive Council of the African Union held its 39 . stopped workingI simple session. A meeting marked by a review of the decision taken last July by AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki to grant observer status to Israel within the Pan-African organization.
Despite pressure from Algeria, members of the All-African Organization were unable to decide the question, sending it back to the next AU summit, scheduled for February 2022. “The debate that lasted for several hours (…) exposed a deep division of the participants”, indicated the Algerian foreign minister in the session.
Ramtane Lamamara accused “Morocco and some of its close allies, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)” for the failure of his proposal. A few days before the foreign ministers’ meeting, Algerian diplomacy prioritized the withdrawal of observer status from Israel within the AU, through a strong communication campaign in the country’s media.
Israel maintains diplomatic relations with 46 African countries. As a reminder, Tel Aviv had observer status within the Organization for African Unity (OAU) until 2002, until the body became the AU. Palestine already has this status.