Hamas hails efforts to revoke Israel’s AU observer status

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Sunday welcomed a decision to postpone the approval of Israel’s observer status in the African Union (AU).

"The decision by the AU Executive Council to postpone taking a final decision to grant the occupation state observer status is a step in the right direction," Hamas leader Basem Naim said in a statement.

On Friday, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra said a decision was taken by the AU Executive Council to delay a decision on granting Israel observer status in the pan-African body until the AU summit in February 2022.

In July, African Union Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat decided to grant Israel observer status, prompting outrage across the African continent.

Last month, a group of international lawyers, researchers and activists filed a complaint with the African Commission on Human and People's Rights seeking the revocation of Israel’s AU observer status.

In recent years, Israel exerted efforts to restore ties with African nations which were severed mostly in the aftermath of Israel’s military conflicts with its neighbors and occupation of the Palestinian lands in the 1960s.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara