Alwaght- The Israeli regime has been compelled to scrap a summit it had planned with African countries following a boycott by a number of invited states.
The so-called Africa-Israel Summit, a first of its kind, had been due to take place in Togo’s capital, Lome, on October 23-27.
Zionist media outlets reported that the summit “has been called off in the aftermath of boycott threats by a number of countries and pressure against the event from Palestinians and Arab countries.”
The Israeli regime’s foreign ministry claimed that the summit had been “postponed,” but as the newspaper noted, no alternative date has been announced.
The summit has been cancelled amid reports that South Africa, Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania had decided to boycott the gathering.
South African Ambassador to Lebanon and Syria Sean Benfeldt said last month that his country would not take part in the summit, which he said would be a step by Tel Aviv to normalize ties between Africa and a regime of “occupation.”
He also denounced “Israel’s inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip, stressing the need for practical solutions to the humanitarian suffering of the population in the besieged [Palestinian] territory.”
Additionally on Monday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the postponement of the first Africa-Israel Summit “was a result of sizable pressure” by the Palestinian government.
The gathering, it said, had been meant to “enhance Israel’s influence in the African continent and to make the continent dependent” on the regime.
“The Arab League, along with the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, and other Arab and Islamic groups and parliaments of Arab countries, have adopted several initiatives seeking to counter and thwart that summit,” the statement said.
Last month, the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad wrote to African governments, calling for the boycott of the Togo summit and dissociation from “Israel’s Apartheid regime.”
The host country, Togo, is also experiencing political upheaval with security forces attempting to violently suppress protests against 50 years of rule by the family of the West African state’s autocratic president Faure Gnassingbé.
The cancellation of the summit is a major blow to Israeli regime’s premier who has been trying to entice African countries.
