Annisa Essack | kzn@radioislam.org.za
20 February 2023 | 22:00 PM CAT
3 min read

Photo Credit: WordCraftByAnnisa

Israeli Ambassador removed from AU Summit.

On Saturday, a senior Israeli diplomat was removed from the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, over Israel’s accreditation to the bloc. The spokesperson for the African Union Commission Chairperson, Ebba Katondo, said the diplomat was removed as she was not the duly accredited Israeli Ambassador, the official who was expected to attend.

Israel looked harshly upon the incident saying that Ambassador Sharon Bar-Li, the deputy director for Africa, was removed despite her status as an accredited observer with entrance badges.

The Israeli Foreign Minister blamed the incident squarely on two key nations in the 55-country bloc, South Africa and Algeria, saying they were driven by hate, controlled by Iran and held the AU hostage.

He said the Chargé d’affaires at the South African embassy would be summoned for a reprimand.

The claim was rejected by South Africa, saying that the bloc had not decided upon Israel’s observer status.

The ANC welcomed the ousting of the Israeli delegate, saying that Israel attending the summit was an “attempt to undermine the current sitting AU summit from considering a report that is supposed to guide discussions on whether Israel must be granted an observer status.” The organisation also emphatically stated that it was to the AU granting observer status to Apartheid Israel.”

Warnings of major escalations at Al Quds

Israeli Intelligence Services have warned that a possible escalation in occupied Al Quds and the West Bank is on the cards as they point the finger at the newly elected National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, who has embarked on an unprecedented crackdown in Al Quds. Speaking to Radio Islam International, Ml Ebrahim Moosa gave a list of punitive measures Ben Gvir has unleashed against the Palestinians.

He has also imposed harsh conditions against Palestinian prisoners, like removing their stoves to heat food and turning off the hot water.

Moosa says this is a deliberate attempt to be as harsh as possible to the Palestinians. Palestinians in Al Quds declared a general strike and civil disobedience to protest the crackdown.

Media exposes Team Jorge that has manipulated elections worldwide

An undercover investigation into disinformation is prompting calls for inquiries by political parties in one part of the world and the suspension of an established news presenter in the other.

On Wednesday, February 15, a consortium of 30 news organisations—including the Guardian, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, Radio France, Haaretz, Washington Post, and El País—unveiled a more than eight-month-long investigation exposing a unit of private Israeli contractors who claim to have manipulated elections and concocted disinformation campaigns across the world.

Headed by a former Israeli special forces operative, 50-year-old Tal Hanan, the group goes by the codename’ Team Jorge,’ after Hanan’s pseudonym.

Three reporters, posing as consultants representing a “politically unstable African country that wanted help delaying an election,” secretly recorded six hours of meetings with Hanan between July and December 2022.

Hanan stated that intelligence agencies, private corporations, and political campaigns could use the team’s services. The investigation revealed that a significant part of these services for sale is the Advanced Impact Media Solutions (AIMS) software, which Hanan claimed controls over 30,000 fictitious social media accounts. Each avatar has a “multifaceted digital backstory,” which could imitate human behaviour.

The links pushed by these fake accounts were, in turn, created by another tool called ‘Blogger.’ AIMS was found to be behind fake social media campaigns in around 20 countries, including India, the UK, Senegal, Germany, Ecuador, Morocco, and the UAE.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Ebrahim Moosa of PIN and Ml Sulaimaan Ravat on Sabahul Muslim.