African Union delays decision on Israeli membership

Addis Ababa (QNN)- The executive council of the African Union on Friday delayed its decision on accepting or revoking granting the occupation state of Israel observer status, until the next summit in February.

The executive council held its 39th regular session on Thursday and Friday. Following a vigorous debate between the members, the council decided to delay the decision.

According to the South Africa-based journalist, Aziz Younis, South Africa spearheaded a group of countries rejecting Israel’s membership. South Africa’s Foreign Minister cited Israel’s apartheid system, wondering if the AU would approve the membership of an apartheid system if it was in her country. She added that approving Israel’s membership would be a disgrace to the union.

The group also contained Nigeria, in which the AU’s headquarter is located, Botswana, Niger, Tanzania, Eritrea, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Lybia, Namibia, and Algeria.

Meanwhile, Liberia frankly stated that it was pressured to accept the decision.

Al Jazeera cited a source, which said that 25 countries demanded to drop Israel’s observer status.