Israel Election Tests Africa's Fractured Diplomatic Ties — SkimNews
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- South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice alleging violations of the 1948 Genocide Convention, and its National Assembly adopted a November 2023 motion calling to close the Israeli embassy and suspend diplomatic ties.
- Morocco and Israel agreed at a September 16 New York trilateral summit with US Ambassador Mike Waltz to upgrade diplomatic missions to embassies and conclude investment and double-taxation agreements by year-end, continuing normalization under a 2020 US-backed deal.
- The African Union suspended Israel's observer accreditation in 2023 after member states objected to a 2021 accreditation, with a heads-of-state committee formed in February 2022 to consult on the status.
- Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog on August 31 and September 1 following July 27 memorandums of understanding covering security, defence, agriculture and energy cooperation.
- Israel's recognition of Somaliland as an independent state on December 26 last year triggered 110 opposition demonstrations logged by ACLED (only 7 supportive), while Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud rejected any Israeli presence in the country "under any circumstances."
- Israel opened a resident embassy in Lusaka, Zambia in August last year after a 52-year absence, targeting cooperation in agriculture, water management, health, education and technology.
Why it matters: The election outcome determines whether Israel can hold together a patchwork of relationships that span active litigation (South Africa's ICJ case), pragmatic normalization (Morocco's embassy upgrade), security partnerships (DRC energy and defence talks) and contested moves (recognition of Somaliland), with African publics constraining governments through protest, as seen in 110 demonstrations against the Somaliland decision.
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