Netanyahu (center) during a meeting of leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in June 2017 (Anatolia)

Despite the global competition for the African market, the Israeli motives for developing relations with the African continent seem deeper than mere economic gains, especially with the geopolitical tremors that the region has witnessed in the past two decades.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the ECOWAS leaders' meeting in June 2017 revealed Tel Aviv's growing interest in building multiple bridges with Africa, both at the bilateral level and at the level of collective institutions.

Yotam Gidron, author of the book "Israel in Africa," calls on Israeli decision-makers to launch a global diplomatic campaign, with Africa as one of its main destinations, in his comment on the damage to relations between Israel and Turkey, Tel Aviv's most important non-Arab ally in the Middle East after the fall of the Shah of Iran in 1979.

The Arab Spring and the fall of the allies

The start of the Arab Spring revolutions represented a sudden and profound shock to the Israeli security environment, which was expressed by an Israeli official in a statement to the Washington Post at the time that Tel Aviv saw the demonstrations that filled Arab squares as “Tehran 1979” in reference to the Iranian revolution that placed Tehran in the anti-Israel camp. .

The repercussions of the Arab Spring carried two main dangers facing Israel: the fall of allied Arab regimes, and the rise of Islamic movements to power in a number of revolutionary countries.

This new situation was described by Itai Bron, head of the analysis department in the Israeli Army Intelligence Directorate (2011-2015), as a stage “characterized by uncertainty, instability, and volatility,” forcing Israel to rebuild perceptions about its relations with Africa and others to confront the possibilities of growing isolation in the country. Then.

Chasing opponents

As part of Tehran's efforts to confront mounting Western pressure and seek to gain international support, the two terms of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad witnessed a remarkable interest in creating new networks of relationships outside the Middle East, which led to a growing Tehran presence in Africa with the development of Iranian political investment in some countries of the continent.

Such an approach motivated Tel Aviv to develop an African counter-strategy, which included an intense diplomatic campaign targeting a number of countries in areas of the continent.

For example, Gidron explains in his book “Israel in Africa” that the interest of his country’s intelligence agencies in West Africa was not only due to the growing Iranian influence in the region, but also to the involvement of members of the Lebanese diaspora there in financing the Lebanese Hezbollah.

Economic motives

Economic interests constitute a major determinant in the Israeli approach towards Africa, which has many incentives that attract Israeli investments, as the continent contains a number of rapidly growing emerging economies such as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, in addition to its vast coastlines, the availability of cheap labor, and tremendous demographic and technological changes.

In this context, Israel has worked to take advantage of the comparative advantages it possesses in some sectors, such as green energy and enhancing agricultural production and high technologies, as the Israeli company “Energiya Global” committed in 2017 to invest up to a billion dollars in the coming years to develop green energy projects. In 15 African countries.

In 2021, the Israeli-based company Gigawatt Global opened the first solar power plant in Burundi, increasing the generation capacity by 10%, before announcing its intention to double the size of the project in 2023.

The same year also witnessed an Israeli-Zambian agreement to establish a station capable of generating 17 megawatts of electricity through wind energy in the largest investment of its kind in Zambia, valued at 100 million US dollars.

Hectic diplomatic activity

This Israeli orientation towards Africa was manifested in intense activity, through which diplomacy of bilateral and collective tours and summits with African leaders emerged, as Netanyahu was the first Israeli prime minister to visit the African continent in 2016 in 5 decades. His visits in East Africa included Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, and he was preceded by years of minister Its foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, visited the three countries in 2009.

Netanyahu is also the first non-African leader to participate in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) summit in 2017. Tel Aviv also worked to open new embassies in the countries of Rwanda and Ghana, and also invested in normalizing relations with African countries such as Guinea (2016) and Chad (2018). Morocco (2020) and Sudan (2020).

A relative success drowned by the "Al-Aqsa Flood"

A strategic assessment issued by the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies indicates that the division in the positions of African countries regarding the war on Gaza reflects the relative success of Tel Aviv’s diplomacy given the traditional African position in favor of Palestine, but on the other hand, it reveals an Israeli failure to win or neutralize African public opinion in Countries that have historically supported Tel Aviv's oppressors, such as South Africa, and countries that contain large segments of the Muslim population in sub-Saharan countries.

In this context, it is evident that William Ruto, President of Kenya, one of Israel's most prominent African allies, retreated from his statements in support of Tel Aviv that he made in the first days of the aggression, to a more neutral position, expressing his conviction that "Palestine must be a free state" and his support for the two-state solution. This is attributed to the pressure of public opinion and the escalation exerted by Kenyan Muslim leaders, which reached the point of demanding the severing of relations with Tel Aviv and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.

While the position of the African Union was more serious in its condemnation of Israeli policies, the final statement of the African Summit in February 2024 affirmed its condemnation of the brutal war and the use of excessive force against unarmed civilians in Gaza and attempts to forcefully transfer them to Sinai, calling for the lifting of the unjust siege imposed on them, a ceasefire and a measure to be taken. An independent international investigation into Tel Aviv's use of internationally banned weapons in Gaza.

Development aid

Development aid represents one of the tools of Israeli soft diplomacy in Africa, as official development agencies and Israeli charities have intensified their activities on the continent, led by the Israeli Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV).

The activities carried out by MASHAF in Africa are diverse, as the context highlights support for economic growth in rural areas by enhancing smallholder production of fruits and vegetables in countries such as Ethiopia, Cameroon and Rwanda, in addition to projects related to the health sector in the countries of Chad, Togo and Ghana.

The data published by the Israeli non-profit organization “Innovation: Africa” on its official website also shows that between 2008 and 2024 it worked to use technologies related to solar energy and water to provide access to clean water to 4.5 million villagers in 10 African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ethiopia, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania, and Cameroon.

Security diplomacy

Israel used military and security equipment and technologies to strengthen its relations with the countries of the African continent, which are witnessing many challenges in this field.

According to the Defense Web website, Israeli arms sales to African countries are growing steadily, with defense exports increasing by 70% between 2015 and 2016 to reach $275 million, while Israeli Ministry of Defense figures stated that Africa’s share reached 3% of total arms sales. Israel in 2022, which is equivalent to $375 million.

Israeli spy tools also contributed to the shrinking of civil space and the strengthening of tyranny in Africa, as an investigative report issued by Orian 21 magazine links the notorious Pegasus program to the targeting of activists, journalists and politicians in the countries of Rwanda, Ghana, Togo and Kenya, which supports Israeli demands to obtain observer status in the Union. African.

Return to "Monitoring" of the African Union

Tel Aviv's desperate attempt to gain observer membership in the African Union represents an intensification of Israel's strategic goals in the relationship with the African continent, benefiting from the fall of Colonel Muammar al-Qafi's regime, which prevented it from being granted this status, which it previously enjoyed in the Organization of African Unity.

Mobilizing support to achieve this goal was on the agenda of the tours undertaken by Israeli officials in the countries of the continent, led by Netanyahu, who stressed the high importance of diplomatic ties with regard to international alliances.

In this context, Tel Aviv seeks for its transformation to an observer to be a gateway to influence the voting bloc of countries on the continent, which represents 54 seats out of 193 at the level of the United Nations General Assembly, 3 seats out of 15 at the level of the Security Council, and 14 seats out of 54 at the level of the United Nations. The level of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and 13 seats out of 47 at the level of the Human Rights Council.

Peter Pham, former director of the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council, believes in an article that Tel Aviv was able to achieve some achievement in this regard, as the improvement of its relations with African countries contributed to the failure of the adoption of a resolution proposal by the International Atomic Energy Agency that would have imposed inspections on nuclear facilities. Israel in 2015, where 4 African countries voted against this measure, 17 other countries abstained from voting, 8 countries were absent, and only 7 countries from sub-Saharan Africa voted against Israel.

In addition to the above, obtaining this status represents an opportunity for Israeli policy to promote its narrative and work to neutralize its opponents within the African Organization with regard to its positions on the Palestinian issue, which became more urgent after Palestine gained this membership in 2013.

On the other hand, observer status allows Tel Aviv to strengthen its relations with the countries of the organization, and to engage in the initiatives and projects launched by the Union in areas such as agriculture, rural development, infrastructure development, tourism, and other fields in which Israel has great experience.

Given the profound damage to Israel's image as a result of its brutal war on the Gaza Strip, it is expected that the coming years will witness an intensification of Tel Aviv's diplomatic campaigns on the African continent, aiming to gain support for its policies, consolidate its influence, and besiege its African opponents, led by South Africa, which led it to be tried before a court. International Justice in a historical precedent.

Source: Al Jazeera