After Israel accepted as an observer member, Algeria warns against actions that could lead to the division of the African Union

Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra warned against actions that could lead to the division of the African Union, after announcing Israel's accession to the continental organization as an observer member.

Lamamra spoke - in a statement to a local newspaper - about what he described as the intransigence and insistence of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission regarding accepting Israel's membership as an observer.

He stressed the continuation of coordination between his country and 6 other countries, including Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, which reject the African Union's move.

Last Thursday, Israel announced its accession to this union as an observer member, a decision that sparked a wave of condemnation among the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian factions.

Seven Arab countries, namely Algeria, Egypt, Comoros, Tunisia, Djibouti, Mauritania and Libya, had informed the African Union of their objection to its decision to grant Israel observer status in the continental organization, a position with which 5 other Arab countries and the Arab League stood in solidarity, according to Arab media on Tuesday.

On July 22, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that "Israel's ambassador to Ethiopia, Admasu Al-Ali, presented his credentials as an observer member to the African Union," without clarifying the background to this development.

Out of 22 Arab countries, only 6 have declared official relations with Israel, namely Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

Relations between African countries and Tel Aviv have been tense since the 1960s, against the backdrop of the outbreak of national liberation movements from occupation on the African continent and the escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Later, the Israeli wars with the Arab countries, in 1967 and 1973, prompted the sub-Saharan African countries to sever their relations with Israel.

Over the following years, Tel Aviv made intensive efforts to improve relations with African countries, and indeed it was able to weave close ties with some capitals.