In the context of the battle of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" and the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip that followed, some African countries declared their support for the Palestinian people, while others stood in complete contrast to this position, sending letters and issuing statements to condemn the attack of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement (Hamas), on the settlements surrounding Gaza.
The majority of the continent's countries have issued diplomatic positions such as condemning the killing of civilians on both sides and calling for negotiations and a ceasefire.
On the fence
With the beginning of the battle of the Al-Aqsa flood on the seventh of October, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, issued a statement in which he appealed to the parties to stop fighting and return to the negotiating table without conditions, and pointed out that the Palestinians' failure to obtain an independent state is one of the reasons for the permanent escalation in the region.
Faki also attended a meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, after which a joint statement was issued by the African Union and the Arab League calling for the opening of humanitarian corridors and the immediate cessation of military actions in Gaza, and warned of a ground invasion of Gaza, which "may lead to unprecedented genocide."
At the peace summit held in Cairo a few days ago, Faki announced his adherence to the first statement issued by the African Union, which calls for an end to "violence from both sides and a return to negotiations on the basis of the two-state solution."
Countries such as Tanzania and Uganda had a similar position to that of the African Union, calling on Tanzania to stop violence on both sides and call for peace.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also called for a return to the two-state solution and the solution of problems through dialogue.
Uganda has strong and long-standing ties with Israel, often using Israeli experience of repression to counter popular uprisings.
Ethiopia, the country with the strongest and historical association with Israel, has not yet taken an explicit position on the war in the Gaza Strip.
Support for Israel
Kenya joined the rest of the world in solidarity with the State of Israel, unequivocally condemning what it called "terrorism and attacks on innocent civilians in the country," Kenyan President William Ruto said on his X account and calling the Qassam Brigades attack on the settlements around Gaza an "unjustified violence."
Kenya has strong official relations with Israel, with Kenyan President Ruto visiting Israel in May and stressing the depth of relations between the two sides and his continuous quest to strengthen them.
Kenya is not the only country in solidarity with Israel, with Ghana expressing its support for Israel and its "right to exist and self-defense." As an interim member of the Security Council, Ghana abstained in favour of two draft resolutions on a ceasefire in Gaza, one Russian and one Brazilian.
Three months ago, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen opened the Israeli-Ghana Business Forum, the first economic forum of its kind on the continent, which discusses deepening economic cooperation between the two countries in the fields of water, agriculture and enterprise development.
Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo had similar positions, declaring their support for Israel in light of what they called the "terrorist attack on its territory," and both Presidents Paul Mia of Cameroon and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo sent their condolences to the dead Israelis.
Supporting Palestine
The State of South Africa has maintained its firm position on the Palestinian cause, and it is remarkable that solidarity with Palestine was not only official, but also popular, as marches and demonstrations continue in various cities in solidarity with Palestine on an almost daily basis.
The main motivation for popular solidarity with Palestine is that the South African people see what is happening in Palestine as an apartheid regime, as they have been subjected to for many years.
Officially, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor has called on trade union movements to boycott Israeli products. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also affirmed his support for the Palestinian cause, appearing in a video wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh and demanding to stand with the Palestinian people.
In Senegal, the Senegalese Campaign to Defend Jerusalem and Palestine called on the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip.
It also called on all popular and official actors in Senegal to show solidarity with and support for the Palestinian people, and Senegal chairs the United Nations Committee for the Defense of the Rights of the Palestinian People.
Arab Countries
With regard to the Arabs of Africa, the general position was in support of the Palestinian people, as Algeria affirmed its historical position on the Palestinian question and reserved the final communiqué of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers, because of its equality with the right of the Palestinian people to the practices of Israel.
Tunisia took the same position as Algeria, with President Kais Saied declaring his full solidarity with the Palestinian people, and the Tunisian Foreign Minister stressing that the solution lies in the unity of all Arabs to confront the war on Gaza.
The Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Accord, Abdul Hamid Dabaiba, also stated that what is happening in Gaza is a full-fledged war crime, and condemned the Western bias towards Israel at the expense of the Palestinian people.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani said he is pained, like all Mauritanians, by what is happening in Gaza. The Mauritanian government declared three days of mourning following the bombing of the Baptist Hospital.
Morocco condemned the killing of civilians on both sides, and the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that dialogue and negotiations were the only way to find a solution to the Palestinian question. This official statement came at a time when Morocco's squares and squares are burning in solidarity with Gaza and condemning the crimes of the Israeli occupation.
Egypt, the historic mediator between Israel and the Palestinian resistance, announced on the first day of the battle its condemnation of the killings on both sides, demanding a ceasefire and a truce. As the situation evolved, Egypt did not open the Rafah crossing, which was closed to residents of the Gaza Strip, nor did it open to remove foreign nationals, and therefore conditioned the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.
Popularly, Arab peoples filled the streets to protest the shelling of the residents of the Gaza Strip, in support of the Palestinian people, and launched donation campaigns for Gazan victims of the war.
A historical view of Israel's role in the continent
Since its inception, Israel has sought to open diplomatic relations with African countries. For Israel, the importance of these relations is due to the size of the African bloc in the international community and the number of its voices in international organizations. During the fifties of the last century, Israel succeeded in building relations with sub-Saharan countries, with the exception of Arab countries, including Somalia and Djibouti.
Israel joined the Organization of African Unity (OAU) as an observer member and reserved a place among African countries. It has established political, economic and social relations with countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia and others.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated in a regional mini-African summit on security and terrorism issues, held in 2016 in Uganda in the presence of the heads of state and government of Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Zambia and Malawi.
The following year, he also attended the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) summit, despite a boycott by some African leaders.
Israel has succeeded in penetrating the African continent in the past few years, establishing relations with Senegal and Guinea, as well as Muslim-majority Chad and Mali, and two Arab states, Morocco and Sudan. The Chairperson of the African Union agreed to give it membership in the organization, before Algeria and South Africa intervened and stopped the entire process.