Top Israeli diplomat expelled from African Union summit amid escalating tensions

A senior Israeli diplomat was removed from the African Union's annual summit on Saturday in Ethiopia, as a dispute over Israel's accreditation to the bloc escalated.

A video circulating on social media shows guards escorting the Israeli foreign ministry's deputy director general for Africa, Sharon Bar-li, out of the AU assembly taking place in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

A spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry described the incident as "severe," noting Bar-li was "an accredited observer with an entry tag", a claim denied by an AU official.

Israel blamed the incident on South Africa and Algeria, two key nations in the 55-nation bloc.

South Africa rejected the claim, saying Israel's application for observer status at the AU has not been decided upon by the bloc.

"Until the AU takes a decision on whether to grant Israel observer status, you cannot have the country sitting and observing," Clayson Monyela, head of public diplomacy in South Africa's department of international relations, told Reuters.

"So, it's not about South Africa or Algeria, it's an issue of principle."

Last year, the African Union suspended a debate on whether to grant Israel an observer status at the continental body, avoiding a vote that risked creating an unprecedented rift in the bloc.

Israel attained observer status at the AU in 2021 after decades of diplomatic efforts, drawing protest from powerful members including South Africa and Algeria, which argued that it flew in the face of AU statements supporting the Palestinians.

Last year, unease flared over the accreditation of Israel as an observer at the AU, with the Palestinians -- who also have an observer status at the body -- urging it to be withdrawn.

The AU has not said whether Israel's status would be up for discussion at this year's summit.

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