ADDIS ABABA: Israel’s ambassador to Ethiopia was ejected from an African Union event this week and has described it as outrageous.
An Israeli official on Wednesday told The Associated Press the ejection from the annual event commemorating the 1994 Rwanda genocide was at the request of AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Youssouf. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to a journalist.
“The new African Union Commission chairperson chose to introduce anti-Israel political elements,” the ambassador, Avraham Nigusse, asserted Tuesday on social media. It “reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the histories of both the Rwandan and Jewish peoples,” he added, saying he had been invited by Rwanda.
The spokesperson for Youssouf, a former foreign minister of Djibouti, did not respond to requests for comment. Youssouf started his four-year AU term in February.
A diplomat at the AU on Wednesday said Israel’s ambassador was removed because they no longer had observer status at the continental body based in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
Israel regained observer status at the AU in 2021, two decades after it was revoked over its conflict with the Palestinians, as Jerusalem sought wider ties with African nations. However, the observer status was suspended again in 2023 pending review by a committee of African heads of state.
They have yet to deliver a verdict. In 2023, a senior Israeli diplomat was evicted from the AU’s annual summit for not having proper accreditation.
The pan-African body has strong ties to the Palestinians, often inviting their leaders to address major gatherings.
Israel last month shattered a ceasefire and renewed its military offensive in Gaza. The territory’s Health Ministry says more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war with Hamas started with the militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
South Africa, a prominent AU member, has brought a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide during its military operations in Gaza. Israel has denied the allegations and called them outrageous.
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Israel’s ambassador is ejected from African Union event
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Israel’s ambassador is ejected from African Union event
- The pan-African body has strong ties to the Palestinians, often inviting their leaders to address major gatherings
- South Africa has brought a case against Israel at the ICJ, accusing it of genocide during its military operations in Gaza
Machado seeks Pope Leo’s support for Venezuela’s transition during Vatican meeting
- Machado is touring Europe and the United States after escaping Venezuela in early 2025
- The pope called for Venezuela to remain independent following the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by US forces
ROME: Pope Leo XIV met with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado in a private audience at the Vatican on Monday, during which the Venezuelan leader asked him to intercede for the release of hundreds of political prisoners held in the Latin American country.
The meeting, which hadn’t been previously included in the list of Leo’s planned appointments, was later listed by the Vatican in its daily bulletin, without adding details.
Machado is touring Europe and the United States after she reemerged in December after 11 months in hiding to accept her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
“Today I had the blessing and honor of being able to share with His Holiness and express our gratitude for his continued support of what is happening in our country,” Machado said in a statement following the meeting.
“I also conveyed to him the strength of the Venezuelan people who remain steadfast and in prayer for the freedom of Venezuela, and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared,” she added.
Machado also held talks with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who was Nuncio in Venezuela from 2009 to 2013.
Pope Leo has called for Venezuela to remain an independent country after US forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro in his compound in Caracas and took him to New York to face federal charges of drug-trafficking.
Leo had said he was following the developments in Venezuela with “deep concern,” and urged the protection of human and civil rights in the Latin American country.
Venezuela’s opposition, backed by consecutive Republican and Democratic administrations in the US, had vowed for years to immediately replace Maduro with one of their own and restore democracy to the oil-rich country. But US President Donald Trump delivered them a heavy blow by allowing Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to assume control.
Meanwhile, most opposition leaders, including Machado, are in exile or prison.
After winning the 2025 Nobel Prize for Peace, Machado said she’d like to give it to or share with Trump.
Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, along with the people of Venezuela, shortly after it was announced. Trump has coveted and openly campaigned for winning the Nobel Prize himself since his return to office in January 2025.
The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize — the Norwegian Nobel Institute — said, however, that once it’s announced, the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.
“The decision is final and stands for all time,” it said in a short statement last week.
The meeting, which hadn’t been previously included in the list of Leo’s planned appointments, was later listed by the Vatican in its daily bulletin, without adding details.
Machado is touring Europe and the United States after she reemerged in December after 11 months in hiding to accept her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
“Today I had the blessing and honor of being able to share with His Holiness and express our gratitude for his continued support of what is happening in our country,” Machado said in a statement following the meeting.
“I also conveyed to him the strength of the Venezuelan people who remain steadfast and in prayer for the freedom of Venezuela, and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared,” she added.
Machado also held talks with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who was Nuncio in Venezuela from 2009 to 2013.
Pope Leo has called for Venezuela to remain an independent country after US forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro in his compound in Caracas and took him to New York to face federal charges of drug-trafficking.
Leo had said he was following the developments in Venezuela with “deep concern,” and urged the protection of human and civil rights in the Latin American country.
Venezuela’s opposition, backed by consecutive Republican and Democratic administrations in the US, had vowed for years to immediately replace Maduro with one of their own and restore democracy to the oil-rich country. But US President Donald Trump delivered them a heavy blow by allowing Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to assume control.
Meanwhile, most opposition leaders, including Machado, are in exile or prison.
After winning the 2025 Nobel Prize for Peace, Machado said she’d like to give it to or share with Trump.
Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, along with the people of Venezuela, shortly after it was announced. Trump has coveted and openly campaigned for winning the Nobel Prize himself since his return to office in January 2025.
The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize — the Norwegian Nobel Institute — said, however, that once it’s announced, the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.
“The decision is final and stands for all time,” it said in a short statement last week.
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