President William Ruto on October 8, came out to support Israel in the Israel-Palestinian war, condemning the Palestine offensive which he termed as terrorism.
The president called for the perpetrators of the violence experienced in Israel to be brought to book castigating the attacks, which pose a threat to international peace and security.
“Kenya joins the rest of the world in solidarity with the State of Israel and unequivocally condemns terrorism and attacks on innocent civilians in the country. The people of Kenya and their government hereby express deepest sympathy and send condolences to the families of all victims,” Ruto wrote.
However, Ruto's stance contradicted other African leaders who had different opinions on the matter.
For instance, Algeria's Foreign Ministry issued a statement referencing Israel’s attack in Gaza “that claimed the lives of innocent sons and daughters of the Palestinian people who fell as martyrs under the persistence of the Israeli occupation."
He however did not mention the Palestinian attack on Israel that kickstarted this latest war.
Similarly, Tunisian President Kais Saied expressed his “full and unconditional stand with the Palestinian people."
“What some media describe as the Gaza enclave is Palestinian land that has been under Zionist occupation for decades, and it is the right of the Palestinians to take it back and to take back all Palestinian land,” Saied elaborated.
On the other hand, the African Union, led by Chair Moussa Faki came out to condemn the war and condole with the affected.
While Faki did not expressly take sides, he emphasized that the main cause of the conflict is the "denial of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, particularly that of an independent and sovereign State."
The only other head of state to take a stand similar to Ruto’s was Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi who wrote, “the Head of State expresses his solidarity with the Israeli people and presents his condolences to the victims and their loved ones.”
Over the years, Israel and Palestine have have been involved in several skirmishes, some minor, some catastrophic, that led to the deaths of thousands.
The latest conflict began when the Palestinian group Hamas, considered by Israel to be terrorists, launched aerial, sea and ground attacks on grounds that Israel was illegally occupying Palestinian Lands.
This prompted the Middle Eastern nation to launch retaliatory attacks, claiming hundreds of lives.
