April 10, 2025 | 03:56 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A senior Israeli official on Wednesday said that the Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia was expelled from the African Union event this week. As reported by the Arab News, the expulsion from the annual event commemorating the 1994 Rwanda genocide was at the request of African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Youssouf. The diplomat was not authorized to speak to journalists and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The new African Union Commission chairperson chose to introduce anti-Israel political elements,” said Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia Avraham Nigusse on Tuesday on social media.
It “reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the histories of both the Rwandan and Jewish peoples,” he added, claiming that he was invited by Rwanda.
A former Djibouti foreign minister, Youssouf's spokesperson, did not respond to requests for comment.
Youssouf began his four-year term at the African Union in February. On Wednesday, a diplomat at the African Union said that the Israeli ambassador was removed because they no longer held observer status at the continental body headquartered in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Israel regained observer status at the African Union in 2021, two decades after the status was revoked due to its conflict with Palestine, as Jerusalem sought broader ties with African nations.
However, the observer status was suspended again in 2023 pending review by the committee of African heads of state, and has yet to be decided. In 2023, a senior Israeli diplomat was expelled from the AU's annual summit for not having proper accreditation.
The pan-African body has strong ties with Palestine and often invites Palestinian leaders to speak at major meetings.
Israel last month thwarted a ceasefire and renewed its military attacks on Gaza. The health ministry in the region said over 50,800 Palestinian civilians had been killed, mostly women and children.
South Africa, a prominent member of the African Union, has filed a case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of genocide during its military operation in Gaza.
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