After the expulsion of the Israeli delegation.. Will the brown continent maintain its principled positions and not be a back garden for the conflicts of the elders?

The journalist and researcher in African affairs, Noureddine Abda, in his comment on the expulsion of an Israeli delegation from the African Union summit, stressed the solidarity of the African continent, popularly and officially, with the Palestinian cause, while the researcher in African affairs and international relations, Makki Youssef Al-Maghribi, called for the necessity of separating the relationship between African countries. With Israel and siding with the Palestinian cause.

The position of the two guests of the episode (2/19/2023) of the “Beyond the News” program came in their response to the controversy raised by the incident of expelling a major Israeli diplomat from the annual African Union summit held in Ethiopia, and with the escalation of the dispute over the adoption of Tel Aviv as an observer in the bloc.

Abda believed that the expulsion of Israeli diplomacy reflects the principled position of the African Union on the Palestinian issue, as evidenced by the fact that the Palestinian National Authority, since its establishment, has participated in the summits of the Union, a vision that was rejected by al-Maghrabi, explaining that what happened at the 36th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, is not A victory for the Palestinian cause, because Israel is a reality in the world and in the brown continent.

An Israeli delegation headed by Sharon Barley, deputy director of the Africa Department at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, tried to participate in the opening session of the African summit, but the objection of the delegations of Algeria and South Africa necessitated its removal from the hall.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry expressed its great anger, and said that its delegation was dealt with in a rude manner.

As a reminder, Israel obtained observer status in the African Union in 2021, and the move was opposed by countries including South Africa and Algeria, which said that this contradicts the positions of the union in support of the Palestinians, and the Palestinians also demanded the withdrawal of observer status from Israel.

Last year, the African Union unanimously suspended the decision to grant observer status to Israel, and announced the formation of a committee to discuss the matter.

Great Power Rivalry Over Africa

Just as the two guests of the episode (2/19/2023) of the “Beyond the News” program differed in their reading of the way the African Union dealt with the Israeli delegation, they did not agree in their analysis of the nature of the challenges facing the brown continent and the way Africans dealt with them.

The journalist and researcher in African affairs pointed out that African countries are aware that the major powers are competing on the continent politically and economically, but they do not want to be a backyard for the struggles of these powers, speaking of a clear tendency to benefit from competition and not be drawn into those who are fighting for influence.

He said that China and Russia were able to expand in the African continent, which prompts the United States of America to seek to restore its role in the continent, and this appeared during the African-American summit that was held some time ago, stressing that the Europeans, in turn, are trying to deal with Africans in a different way.

On the other hand, the researcher in African affairs and international relations talked about what he called an open international diplomatic landing on the African summit in Addis Ababa, and said that the picture would have been complete if Russia had attended, describing the dealings of the major powers with Africa as bad, and that they influence the decisions of the countries of the continent.

While referring to the expansion of Russia and China on the continent, he said that Washington is trying to enter the continent, but with unsuccessful policies.

The guest of the "Beyond the News" program also criticized the role of the African Union because it does not take the lead on the issues of the brown continent, specifically the way it deals with the Sudanese crisis.