Africa in the Shadow of Arab-Israel Relations

For well over the past half century, many countries in Africa were caught in a complex web of relations between Arab states and the State of Israel. Since its independence from the British in 1948, relations between Arab states and Israel have been very confrontational as multiple Arab states refuse to this day to recognize the legitimacy of Israel as a state. As part of extensive efforts toward defining a pathway for an everlasting peace between Israel and Palestine, the Arab League, a consortium of predominantly Arab Islamic countries from the Middle East and North Africa, has taken strategic decisions to normalize relations with Israel. However, not all Arab League member countries want to normalize relations with Israel, while some do. In recent times, the push toward normalization in Arab–Israeli relations has led to questions being raised about the future of Israel-Africa relations and Arab League-Africa relations. Some African countries tend to align more with Israel, some tend to align war with the Arab League, and some remain completely neutral in the conflict. This paper examines the normalization of Arab–Israeli relations and its effect on the relations of both Israel with Africa, and the Arab League with Africa. Furthermore, it examines the evolution of Arab League-Israeli relations, African Union-Israeli relations, and Arab League-African Union relations.