ADDIS ABABA: Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Saturday urged the African Union (AU) to withdraw Israel’s 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 expected to figure prominently during the summit this weekend.

The row broke out last July when Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, accepted Israel’s accreditation to the bloc, triggering a rare dispute within a body that values consensus.

As heads of state gathered in Ethiopia’s capital on Saturday, Shtayyeh called on the body to reject Faki’s move.

“Israel should never be rewarded for its violation and for the apartheid regime it does impose on the Palestinian people,” he said.

“Your excellencies, I’m sorry to report to you that the situation of the Palestinian people has only grown more precarious.” The summit may see a vote on whether to back or reject Faki’s decision, which could yield an unprecedented split in the bloc.

Israel’s 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.

Faki said the AU’s commitment to the Palestinian push for independence was “unchanging and can only continue to go stronger”.

He defended Israel’s accreditation, saying it could be “an instrument in the service of peace” while calling for “a serene debate” on the issue.

The 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.

The conflict pits Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group.

It 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.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2022