Netanyahu drops ministers from Africa trip
Three ministers told they would not be joining Netanyahu after all on his diplomatic trip to Liberia where he will attend an ECOWAS conference in a bid to establish diplomatic relations; MK Avraham Neguise accompanies Netanyahu.
After receiving their required vaccinations, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel and Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotoveli were all originally told that they would be flying with Netanayhu, who took off on Saturday night to Monrovia to participate in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) conference which will be attended by a number of west African leaders and representatives.
Despite claiming that the reasons for the sudden change was due to the brevity of the trip, Netanyahu did not decide to remove MK Avraham Neguise. Indeed, the length of the trip was already known in advance, and it remains unclear as to why Netanyahu chose to remove the other three and not Neguise. The PMO did not answer questions on the matter by media outlets.
However, suspicions have been raised that the trip’s brevity has little to do with the move, and that Neguise’s spot on the plane can be attributed to Netanyahu’s hopes to bring about a political breakthrough.
Indeed, ECOWAS is one of eight regional African organizations and comprises 15 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Mali and Niger do not have diplomatic relations with Israel and Jerusalem is therefore hoping that the prime minister’s visit will result in a meeting with the countries’ leaders, perhaps even a meeting between Netanyahu and their leaders, and perhaps a statement about the establishment of diplomatic relations.
No objections were raised by the minister left behind, perhaps because the trip will include a twelve-hour flight each way and a nine-hour stay. The prime minister’s wife will also not be joining her husband.
Morocco's King Mohammed VI announced that he would cancel his participation in the conference due to Netanyahu's arrival. Other countries subsequently decided to lower the level of representation upon learning of his attendance and in Morocco it was reported that the King intends to avoid meeting Netanyahu.
"We decided to reduce the level of representation at the conference because of disagreement over Netanyahu's invitation," the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "The king hopes that his first visit to the conference will not take place in the shadow of disagreement and conflict, and in Morocco the king was under heavy pressure not to attend the conference following Netanyahu's arrival."
