Israeli Ambassador expelled from AU Rwanda Genocide event amid widening tensions over Gaza War
Avraham Neguise, a former Likud lawmaker appointed as ambassador in August 2024, was asked to leave following protests from several AU member states.
Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia, Avraham Neguise, was removed from a high-profile African Union (AU) event in Addis Ababa commemorating the 1994 Rwandan genocide, after member states reportedly refused to attend the session in his presence, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has confirmed.
The event, held Monday at the AU headquarters' Nelson Mandela Hall, was titled "Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda." The snub has sparked renewed diplomatic friction between Israel and the AU.
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Neguise, a former Likud lawmaker appointed as ambassador in August 2024, was asked to leave following protests from several AU member states.
Israel has condemned the move and pointed fingers at AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Youssouf in an official statement for what they termed "outrageous conduct."
"It is outrageous that at an event commemorating the victims of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, to which the Israeli ambassador in Addis Ababa was invited, the Chairperson chose to introduce anti-Israel political elements," read the strongly worded statement from Israel's Foreign Ministry.
"This unacceptable conduct dishonors the memory of the victims and reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the histories of both the Rwandan and Jewish peoples," the ministry added, vowing to pursue diplomatic steps over the matter.
Similar incident
The AU, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, has yet to issue a public response, but the move echoes a similar incident in February 2023, when another Israeli diplomat was expelled from the 36th AU Summit of Heads of State—also held in Addis Ababa.
The timing of the latest incident coincides with renewed international outrage over Israel's ongoing military operations in Gaza.
On March 18, Israel resumed its assault on the enclave, reportedly shattering a January ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
Since October 2023, more than 50,700 Palestinians—many of them women and children—have been killed in Gaza, according to local and international sources.
In response to the expulsion, the Palestinian group Hamas hailed the AU's action as a "courageous stance," claiming it aligned with Africa's historical support for Palestinian rights.
"The brazenness of Israel has reached unprecedented levels by sending a representative to a conference on genocide while committing the crime of genocide in Gaza," Hamas said in a statement, calling on global institutions to "impose a comprehensive boycott" on Israel.
The African Union has long hosted Palestinian leaders at its summits, and its rejection of Israeli presence at such high-level commemorations signals an escalating diplomatic divide.
The fallout from the latest removal adds to growing concerns over Israel's dwindling diplomatic traction across Africa amid intensifying scrutiny of its actions in Gaza.
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