RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh on Saturday called on the African Union Summit to push for stopping the war on the Gaza Strip and halt Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

“Let the voice of Africa and the voice of your union be loud for the freedom of Palestine and the right of its people to self-determination and the embodiment of the Palestinian state and its recognition as a member state of the United Nations,” Shtayyeh said in his speech at the summit held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The prime minister called on the African Union to demand an end to “the aggression against the Palestinian people, especially what is happening now in Rafah.”

“Israel is an apartheid state and a state of racial discrimination in law and practice,” he said.

“Israel is killing out of revenge, after 134 days of aggression, and wants to continue killing for as long as possible to serve (Benjamin) Netanyahu's position as prime minister, this must not be allowed," he said.

He also called for "boycotting settlement products and settlement institutions and settlers,” praising countries which placed some settlers on "terrorist" lists.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The ensuing Israeli attack has killed at least 28,858, injured more than 68,677 others, and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Less than 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi​​​​​​​