Algeria has affirmed that the African Union’s (AU) recent decision to reinstate the Israeli occupation state as an observer member will not affect the African organization’s support for the Palestinian cause.
“The recent decision that was made by the chairman of the African Union Commission to accept a new observer (Israel) will not affect the continental organization’s firm and effective support for the just Palestinian cause” the Algerian foreign ministry said in a press release on Sunday.
“The decision which was taken without prior extensive consultations with all member states does not have the ability or power to confer legitimacy on the new observer’s practices and behavior” the ministry added.
The AU said last Wednesday that it would readmit Israel as an observer member 19 years after it was ousted from the 55-nation pan-African bloc due to pressure by then-Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi.
Israeli officials have been pushing for a seat on the AU since its suspension shortly after the union was formed in 2002 as the successor to the Organization of African Unity.
