Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Kuwait City on January 30, 2022 (AA)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmad Aboul Gheit warned that the ongoing escalation of Israeli aggression against Palestinians will result in an explosion in the situation in Palestine. Aboul Gheit pointed out that Al-Quds is undergoing a clear "Judaization scheme" through a change in its population's demographic.

Aboul Gheit said, in a speech before the 36th African Summit in Addis Ababa, on Saturday, that "Al-Quds is exposed to a clear Judaization plan and a change in its demography. The Israeli occupation's violations against the Palestinians have escalated in recent months in a way that warns of an explosive situation."

Calls for reviewing the joint Arab-African action plan

Furthermore, in his speech, Aboul Gheit called for the need to review the Joint Arab-African Action Plan and stressed its importance, especially in light of developing an Arab-African free trade zone.

Aboul Gheit exclaimed, "There is a need to review the joint Arab-African Action Plan once and for all for approval."

The Secretary-General pointed out that Arab-African cooperation since its establishment in 1977 "is based on mutual interests, a long history, and converging views on many global issues," adding that this summit is being held "under the slogan of accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is a subject consistent with the goals and priorities of the Arab League since the Greater Arab Free Trade Area is one of the most important steps to activate Arab economic integration."

Aboul Gheit, moreover, confirmed the existence of an Arab desire to raise the level of cooperative relations with Africa, especially since the action plan entailed the development of an Arab-African free trade zone.

Lastly, the Secretary-General stressed the need to continue and even intensify efforts throughout this next stage, noting that the fifth Arab-African summit is expected to be held later this year in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There is no doubt, Aboul Gheit argued, that the challenges and upcoming due events that are related to this partnership require a lot of serious work and concerted efforts.

Israeli delegation expelled

In a related context, Al Mayadeen sources confirmed that an Israeli delegation had been expelled from the 36th African Union summit in Addis Ababa, which launched today under the slogan "accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area."

According to media reports, the African Union Commission canceled an invitation it had previously sent to "Israel" to attend the opening of the summit today, after being pressured by Algeria and South Africa to ban "Tel Aviv" from attending any activity at the summit.

The Algerian media sources have revealed that the issue of withdrawing the African Union observer status from "Israel" will be on the agenda of the regular African summit.