Haniyeh Calls on AU to Revoke 'Israel's' Observer Status

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Ismail Haniyeh, the Head of Hamas's political bureau, sent a letter to Moussa Faki Mahamat, the African Union Commission Chairperson, calling on him to revoke 'Israel's' observer status in the African Union.

Haniyeh addressed the African Union: "We in Hamas, and the Palestinian people alongside us, followed up with sorrow and astonishment of you granting the oppressive Zionist state observer status in the African Union."

"The African Union is a reputable organization that has been defending the African peoples' rights to self-determination, freedom, and independence. It stands with Palestine in its just cause against the aggression and terrorism the Zionist war machine has been subjecting the Palestinian people, their land, and their Islamic and Christian sanctities to for more than 70 years," Haniyeh added.

Haniyeh denounced this decision, which he said: "contradicts and is incompatible with all the values and principles on which the African Union was founded," adding that the decision constitutes a severe blow to the Palestinian people and their legitimate national rights.

The political leader expressed his hope that the African Union Commission would intensify communication with friendly countries and international and regional organizations on the political, diplomatic, and legal levels to materialize an international position that reasserts and enhances the demand for legitimate national rights.

Haniyeh also wants for the above-mentioned position to: pressure the occupation's government to halt the settlement projects and the confiscation of Palestinian land, expose the occupation's crimes and its continued aggression, criminalize the Israeli violations and attacks, and finally, proceed with launching an investigation in the International Criminal Court to try the leaders of the occupation as war criminals.

Moreover, Haniyeh noted that the occupation is using its status to perpetuate its existence, implement its colonial project, and continue its abhorrent occupation of the Palestinian land. He continued to say that the occupation also aims to escalate its aggression against the Palestinian people and their land.

The leader asked Faki to reverse the decision that shocked the Palestinian people and Africans in support of the Palestinian cause, and to stand in solidarity with them. He clarifed that the said decision does not reflect the Union's positions on the Palestinian cause throughout history.

On July 22, the African Union granted official observer status to 'Israel,' which, according to the two parties, would exclusively enable 'Israel' to help the continent in "combatting the coronavirus," and the "prevention of the spread of extremist terrorism on the African continent."