Naledi Pandor hits back at ejection of Israeli from AU summit

International relations and co-operation minister Naledi Pandor has rejected Israel’s claims that SA was jointly responsible for the removal of an Israeli representative at the AU assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the weekend.

Pandor was clarifying reports that a senior Israeli diplomat was removed from the AU annual summit on Saturday amid an escalating dispute over Israel’s accreditation to the 55-country bloc.

Reuters reported that images published online showed AU security personnel confronting the diplomat during the opening ceremony of the summit before she left the auditorium.

According to the report, Ebba Kalondo, spokesperson for the AU’s commission chair, said the diplomat had been removed because she was not the duly accredited Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia — the official who had been expected.

Israel blamed the incident on SA and Algeria, saying they were holding the AU hostage and were driven by “hate”.

Israel’s foreign ministry said the charge d'affaires at SA’s embassy would be summoned for a reprimand.

Pandor told Asharq News she had read about the removal of a person “who was not authorised to be in the assembly opening ceremony. And I was very surprised to hear the reference, in very pejorative words to SA ... I am not a security official at the AU nor do I work for the administration of the commission and so the notion that I stand up and remove any person in a hall is quite insulting and demeaning,” she said.

“I believe that the Israeli colleague is probably aware that we have objected to the commission chairperson’s unilateral decision to grant Israel observer status in our union.

“We have objected to this because we believe that the continued occupation of the land of Palestinian people, as well as the building of new settlements, the prohibition on movement and that Palestinian people have to carry ID documents to travel on different roads from other persons living in the area, that they cannot build their own homes and be assured that their land will not be occupied” were infringements of the contents of the AU,” Pandor added.

“And so on the grounds of Israel not reflecting the values, principles and objectives of the AU ... we have expressed the view that they cannot be an observer in our organisation.”

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