Palestinian delegation wraps up three-week Africa tour

DAKAR, Senegal (AA) - A delegation from Palestinian faction Fatah on Tuesday wrapped up a three-week tour of Africa aimed at counteracting perceived Israeli diplomatic influence on the continent.

According to Anas Abdelrahim, a spokesman for the Palestinian embassy in Senegal, one of the tour’s main objectives was to persuade African governments to oppose Israel’s efforts to obtain permanent-observer status at the Addis Ababa-based African Union (AU).

“Dakar was the last leg of the delegation’s Africa tour, during which delegation members visited a total of ten African states,” Abdelrahim said.

The delegation arrived in the Senegalese capital last Friday and departed on Sunday,” the spokesman told Anadolu Agency on Monday evening.

The delegation was headed up by Uri Davis, a 74-year-old Jewish member of Fatah’s influential Revolutionary Council. Since 2009, Davis has served as an envoy for Palestinian President (and Fatah leader) Mahmoud Abbas.

“Israel is the last country to still practice apartheid,” Davis told reporters upon his arrival in Senegal. “I challenge the [Israeli] ambassador -- in this country or any other -- to prove otherwise.”

Along with denying Israel AU observer status, delegation members voiced their desire to see African states boycott an upcoming Africa-Israel summit to be held in the West African country of Togo, the date for which has yet to be set.

Speaking in Dakar, Davis urged African capitals to boycott the summit, which he described as “a very negative initiative launched by the government of Togo”.

In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a rare visit to West Africa, where -- at a meeting with leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a 15-member West African trade bloc -- he urged African states to enter into partnerships with Israel.