African Union meeting begins in Ethiopia; Photo: Video Grab
Addis Ababa: An Israeli diplomat was kicked out of the hall on the first day of the African Union’s annual meeting in the Ethiopian capital.
According to the World News Agency, Israel Senior Diplomat Deputy Director for Africa, Ambassador Sharon Bar-Lee arrived in Ethiopia to participate in the opening session of the African Union Summit.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, it can be seen that the security officials of the meeting seem unsatisfied after questioning Israel’s top senior diplomat and kick him out of the meeting.
Sources say that the Israeli diplomat was pulled out of the meeting on the objection of Algeria and South Africa. Both countries were of the opinion that Ambassador Sharon Bar-Lee is not the ambassador of Ethiopia and therefore cannot attend the meeting.
On which the invitation issued to the Israeli delegation to participate as an observer was cancelled.
Israel strongly protested the incident, saying that revoking the status of an Israeli diplomat is nowhere listed in the African Union law. Despite having the badge of a recognized observer, he was kicked out, which would lead to a strong reaction.
African Union Chairman Eba Kalundo maintained that the Israeli diplomat was not Israel’s designated ambassador to Ethiopia. That is why they were expelled.
It should be remembered that Israel obtained observer status in the African Union in 2021 after several decades of diplomatic efforts.
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