Mahmoud Abbas Shoots Polisario Dead on African Union Stage

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a pointed address to the African Union on Saturday February 15, 2025 asserting that the Palestinian struggle remains the “only remaining colonial cause” in the world. His remark was widely seen as a rebuke to Algeria’s longstanding efforts to equate the Western Sahara dispute with the Palestinian issue.

Speaking at the AU’s 38th summit in Addis Ababa, Ehtiopia, Abbas emphasized the uniqueness of the Palestinian experience under occupation, declaring, “We alone, across the entire world, remain under the occupation that your peoples once lived. You have been liberated, thanks to God, but we remain.” The remarks, broadcast on his official YouTube channel on February 15, 2025, immediately drew attention for their implications in the decades-old Western Sahara conflict, where Algeria-backed Polisario Front separatists seek independence from Morocco.

By positioning Palestine as the sole ongoing colonial struggle, Abbas effectively marginalized the Polisario narrative within the AU. Moroccan officials have long accused Algeria of leveraging the Western Sahara issue to undermine Morocco, a claim Algeria denies, asserting that its support for the Polisario is rooted in a broader anti-colonial stance similar to the Palestinian cause.

As the AU summit concluded, the ripple effects of Abbas’s address continued to be felt. His dismissal of competing liberation narratives has left Algeria’s diplomatic efforts in a precarious position, as officials now face mounting pressure to justify their support for the Polisario Front amid shifting regional dynamics.

Abderrahmane Fares