African Union suspends Zionist regime's observer status

Al-Mayadin reported that the 35th African Union session that began Saturday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, suspended Israel's observer status.

Palestine on Saturday called on the African Union (AU) to retract its decision to grant Israel an observer status in the pan-African organization, Anadolu Agency reported.

"The decision to grant Israel an observer status is a reward that [Tel Aviv] does not deserve, and we call for this decision to be withdrawn," Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh told an AU summit in Addis Ababa on Saturday.

He said Israel does not deserve the observer status “for its racist treatment of the Palestinians."

On July 22, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that its ambassador to Ethiopia, Admasu Al-Ali, had submitted his credentials as an observer member to the AU, which was accepted unilaterally by Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the AU Commission.

Several member states, particularly Algeria and South Africa, protested Mahamat's decision, noting that they had not been consulted about the move.

RHM/IRN84640821/PR