WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has called on the African Union (AU) to remove the Zionist regime’s observer status, as the bloc met in the Ethiopian capital for the 39th session of the executive council.
In July, AU commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat granted the occupying regime observer status reportedly without consulting all member states. Since then, more than half of the continent’s 55 states - including South Africa, Algeria and Egypt - have voiced opposition to the decision.
“The attempt by some to support Israel’s application for observer status in the African organization has rightly provoked sentiments of shock and rejection by those who wish to see Africa preserve and defend its proud legacy of successfully defeating racist colonialism and oppression,” Maliki said in an open letter, according to the Wafa news agency.
Maliki urged the AU to listen to African leaders who “vehemently protest attempts to override the African Union’s Charter and founding principles as well as circumvent the will of the peoples of the continent by fast-tracking a unilateral decision to grant Israel an Observer Status at the African Union”.
“Today, I write so that you may hear from the Palestinian people, who have historically and unwaveringly stood on the solid foundation of support to our African sisters and brothers. I write to ask that you stand by Palestine and your peoples’ legacy and reject a tacit endorsement of present-day colonialism,” the letter added.
Maliki told the block that the Zionist regime sees “international law and human rights as impediments and continue to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity have long forfeited any entitlement to have a seat at the African table”.
The letter comes as Zionist regime authorities in Al-Quds have approved a plan to build housing units in an illegal settlement on the Palestinian area of Khirbet Tabalya, southwest of the city.
On Wednesday, the Zionist-controlled Al-Quds municipality’s local planning committee approved the plan to construct “public buildings and roads” in the illegal settlement of “Giv’at Hamatos”, according to media.
At present, the illegal settlement consists of a set of caravans and mobile homes set up in the early 1990s for Ethiopian settlers.