The UA’s words of solidarity with Palestine are no longer enough African Union

On May 11, African Union Commission President Moussa Faki Mahamat “strongly condemned” Israel’s deadly bombing of the Gaza Strip and the AU declared a “legitimate search for an independent and sovereign state with a legitimate search for the legitimacy of the Palestinian people”. It is the capital of East Jerusalem. ”

You might think the statement is well-known, though – the words of Mahamat are almost identical to many of the bold and direct statements made by Israel in response to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza by the AU.

In May 2018, when Israel killed 266 people and injured tens of thousands in protests in the Great March of Gaza, for example, Mahamat expressed his organization’s strong and lasting support for the Palestinian struggle and called for “a just and lasting solution to the conflict”. … within the framework of the relevant United Nations declarations ”.

In July 2014, when Israel killed about 2,310 Palestinians in Gaza, wounded more than 10,000 and nearly demolished Gaza’s infrastructure and economy, then-African Union Commission President Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma strongly condemned the “explosion and hostile attacks on Gaza’s population”. Dlamini-Zuma also reaffirmed the UA’s “full support” for the Palestinians and called for “the restoration of their legal right to establish an independent state that exists in peace with the State of Israel.”

Today, as Israel moves its diplomatic stance and proclamations against comprehensive repression against the Palestinians, the AU claims to be one of the loudest and most enduring defenders of Palestinian rights internationally. And the UA’s strong support for Palestine has hardly happened recently.

Being a body born of the anti-imperialist struggle of the continents, the UA has always been eager and ready to publicly “defend” Palestine.

In 1975, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor of the AU, adopted a Resolution on the Middle East and the Occupied Arab Territories in Israel “in response to barbaric and terrorist attacks on refugee camps and bombings on towns and civilian targets. .

Influenced by the cold heart of Israel’s systemic violence against the Palestinian people, the OAU reaffirmed “the full and effective support of frontline states and the Palestinian people in their legal struggle to regain all occupied territories and usurped rights.”

Israel condemned Israel’s shameful attempts to change the “demographic, geographical, economic and cultural characteristics” of the occupied Palestinian territories. He addressed the role of the United States in the Middle East conflict and said that “the flooding of Israel with such a huge number of weapons is the establishment of an advanced case of racism and colonialism in the heart of the Arab and African World and the Third World.”

Moreover, the OAU determined that Israel’s systemic and enduring brutality against the Palestinian people cannot be confronted or eradicated through elegant appeals, or worse – a purely diplomatic stance. He therefore called on all African states to expand their “powers” ​​to the Palestinians in order to strengthen the fight against the Zionist attack and called on international organizations such as the UN to impose sanctions on Israel.

All this may lead some to conclude that in the middle of the century the UA has hardly abandoned its anti-colonial stance on Palestine.

Unfortunately, this is not the case.

In 1975, the OAU not only condemned Israel’s crimes, but also launched a major plan of resistance against the colonization of Israelis in Palestinian lands.

Today, however, the UA’s condemnations of the Israeli occupation and the usual attack on the Palestinians are no longer backed by concrete policies or actions, in fact, they are merely symbolic gestures. Moreover, it seems that the member states of the Union have no interest in defending the anti-colonial ideals promoted by the OAU in the 1970s.

On May 10, when Israeli security forces attacked Palestinian protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque, for example, the only African leader who took the time to publicly condemn Israel’s actions was South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The desirable and depressing silence in another part of the continent made it clear how most African states have abandoned their commitment to support the Palestinians in the anti-colonial struggle for freedom and justice.

In fact, in recent years, most African states have been more interested in building stronger diplomatic, economic, and military relations with Israel and being rewarded for their efforts by Western Israeli allies than in showing solidarity with the Palestinians.

Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea and Angola are actively working to “build stronger economic relations” with Israel. Uganda and Malawi are “considering” the establishment of diplomatic missions in Jerusalem. Morocco and Sudan recently “celebrated” the normalization agreements they signed with Israel.

The demonstrable attitudes of these African states towards Israel, along with the complete silence of Palestine of many others, make it clear that the recent strong condemnations of the UA by Israel are nothing more than pure rhetoric.

Today, Israel violates the most basic human rights of Palestinians on a daily basis, subjugates the rule of apartheid, and kills them with impunity, but the UA does no more than make statements of condemnation. That, in terms of the UA’s commitment to supporting the Palestinian struggle against colonial occupation, is not enough. For an organization made up of anti-imperialists who were often involved in the liberation struggle, it is not enough to turn a blind eye to the Palestinian struggle.

U.S. President Joe Biden or British Prime Minister Boris Johnson may fight to explicitly define or condemn Israel’s systemic racism, lawless occupation, and murderous policies, but an African leader cannot say he does not understand what Palestinians are experiencing today. They understand that their country was in the same situation not so long ago. So why don’t they talk? And, most importantly, why does the organization it represents do more than provide well-written and emotional but fundamentally irrelevant media statements on the subject?

When did African states stop recognizing the anti-colonial struggle they shared with Palestine and start blinding Israel’s crimes and start actively supporting them at the UN?

The UA still has no doubts about condemning Israel’s enduring crimes against humanity, so why isn’t it planning a resistance plan to help Palestinians find justice and freedom? Why have the member states not committed themselves to taking practical measures that oblige Israel to respect international law and the human rights, land and economic rights of the Palestinians?

The “advanced cases of racism and colonialism” that the OAU was so famous for in 1975 remain clearly unresolved and as deadly as ever. So why don’t African states implement the same policies that helped put pressure on apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s? Beyond symbolic gestures and condemnations, where are Israel’s academic, cultural, and sports boycotts? Why don’t African states apply economic sanctions against Israel?

For too long, the timidity and indecision of the UA has helped Israel normalize the savage repression against the Palestinians. It is time for the UA to return to its anti-colonial roots and take important measures against Israel.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the attitude of the Al Jazeera editorial.