Israel envoy expelled from AU meeting

Delegates await outside during a closed session of the 38th African Union (AU) Summit at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa on February 15, 2025 [MARCO SIMONCELLI/AFP via Getty Images]

The Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia, Avraham Neguise, was expelled from the African Union headquarters after member states refused to participate in an annual meeting in his presence, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said today.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take the necessary diplomatic steps with the relevant parties to make clear the gravity with which we view this event,” Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said.

the African Union (AU) joined South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in February and has declared that Israel “is committing genocide” against the Palestinian people “and must be prosecuted internationally.”

“We call for an end to cooperation and normalization with Israel until it ends its occupation and aggression against Palestine,” the final statement of the AU’s 38th summit held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa from 15-16 February.

An Israeli delegation was ejected from the AU’s annual summit in Ethiopia in February 2023.

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