Israel's ambassador is ejected from an African Union event

Israel’s ambassador to Ethiopia was ejected from an African Union event this week and has described it as outrageous.

An Israeli official on Wednesday told The Associated Press the ejection from the annual event commemorating the 1994 Rwanda genocide was at the request of AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Youssouf. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to a journalist.

“The new African Union Commission chairperson chose to introduce anti-Israel political elements,” the ambassador, Avraham Nigusse, asserted Tuesday on social media. It “reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the histories of both the Rwandan and Jewish peoples,” he added, saying Rwanda had invited him.

The spokesperson for Youssouf, a former foreign minister of Djibouti, did not respond to requests for comment. Youssouf started his four-year AU term in February.

A diplomat at the AU on Wednesday said Israel’s ambassador was removed because they no longer had observer status at the continental body based in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

Israel regained observer status at the AU in 2021, two decades after it was revoked over its conflict with the Palestinians, as Jerusalem sought wider ties with African nations. However, the observer status was suspended again in 2023 pending review by a committee of African heads of state.

They have yet to deliver a verdict. In 2023, a senior Israeli diplomat was evicted from the AU’s annual summit for not having proper accreditation.

The pan-African body has strong ties to the Palestinians, often inviting their leaders to address major gatherings.

Israel last month, Israel shattered a ceasefire and renewed its military offensive in Gaza. The territory's Health Ministry says more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war with Hamas started with the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

South Africa, a prominent AU member, has brought a case against Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide during its military operations in Gaza. Israel has denied the allegations and called them outrageous.