A.U. blasts Jerusalem embassy move even as Kenya sends rep

The African Union has come out strongly to condemn the controversial move by the United States to move its Israel embassy to Jerusalem.

This comes even as 12 African States sent delegations to represent them during the opening ceremony on Monday.

They include Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Angola, the DRC (Congo-Kinshasa), Cameroon, Zambia, Cote D’Ivoire and Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville).

Interestingly, Kenya abstained from the UN Generally Assembly vote on the decision to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv.

Deadly protests during the embassy opening ceremony on Monday led to the death of 52 Palestinians and left over 2,000 injured.

On Tuesday, a statement from the African Union said the embassy relocation will only heighten tensions in the region and complicate the search for a lasting solution to the the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“The chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Fati Mahamat strongly condemns the disproportionate use of force by Israeli forces which resulted in the killing of over fifty Palestinian demonstrators while many more remained injured,” it reads.

The African Union is backing the Palestinian people in their legitimate quest for an independent and sovereign State with East Jerusalem as its capital, Mahamat said.

The chairperson also called for renewed and genuine international efforts to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict.

This he said would be based on the existence of the two States; Israel and Palestine, within the framework of the relevant UN pronouncements.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump skipped the embassy opening ceremony but was represented by his daughter Ivanka.

Additional reporting from Agencies