In a new sign of growing discontent across the African continent over Israel’s actions in occupied Palestine, the Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia, Avraham Neguise, was expelled from an African Union (AU) event commemorating the Rwandan genocide.

The incident, which took place at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, follows a pattern of continental resistance to Israeli participation in African diplomatic spaces.

According to diplomatic sources, the ambassador was asked to leave after objections were raised by several member states opposed to Israel’s presence, particularly amid the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The meeting was suspended until the Israeli envoy departed the premises.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded with outrage, calling the incident “a political attack,” despite the growing international condemnation of Tel Aviv’s military campaign in Gaza, which has killed over 49,000 people since October 2023 — the vast majority of them women and children.

The African Union has yet to issue a formal statement, though its Commission chair, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has previously faced criticism for unilaterally granting Israel observer status in 2021 — a move that was met with fierce opposition from Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria, and other member states. That status remains under review.

This is the second time in just over a year that an Israeli diplomat has been expelled from an AU summit. In February 2023, Sharon Bar-Li, a senior Israeli official, was also ejected from a high-level meeting after arriving without proper accreditation.

Many African nations, with long histories of colonial resistance and solidarity with the Palestinian cause, have denounced Israel’s policies as apartheid and called for greater accountability from international bodies.

The repeated expulsion of Israeli diplomats underscores the deep fractures within the African Union over relations with Tel Aviv, especially as the war on Gaza continues to draw comparisons with historical crimes against humanity.

The latest expulsion reflects not only Israel’s growing isolation on the international stage, but also the AU’s internal struggle to align its principles with its diplomatic engagements.

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