An Israeli delegation was expelled from the opening ceremony of the African Union (AU) summit in Ethiopia, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced, accusing Iran together with South Africa and Algeria.

A video released to the press showed the deputy director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry for Africa, Sharon Bar-Li, leaving the summit complex in Addis Ababa, escorted by several guards, with whom she argued for several minutes.

"Israel takes seriously the incident in which the envoy for Africa, Sharon Bar-Li, was expelled from the African Union hall, despite her status as an accredited observer with access," an Israeli ministry spokesman said in a statement released today.

"It is regrettable to see that the African Union has been taken hostage by a small number of extremist countries like Algeria and South Africa, driven by hatred and controlled by Iran," he added, urging African countries to oppose these actions.

The Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, thanked the AU for its support for the Palestinian cause and "the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to end the Israeli occupation and establish their independent state," the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported at the summit.

Israel won observer status at the AU in 2021 after decades of diplomatic efforts, prompting protests from several members of the 55-country bloc, including South Africa and Algeria, who claim that this contradicts the AU's principle of supporting the Palestinians.

The Palestinian Authority has repeatedly called on African leaders to withdraw Israel's accreditation to the AU, denouncing an "apartheid regime" in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to strengthen his country's relations with African countries and recently inaugurated the first embassy in Chad. (Letter)