Palestinian PM Mohammed Shtayyeh on Saturday urged the African Union to withdraw Israels observer status as heads of state from the 55-member body met for a two-day summit. "Israel should never be rewarded for its violation and for the apartheid regime it does impose on the Palestinian people," he said, AFP reported. The dispute erupted last July when Moussa Faki Mahamat, chair of the African Union Commission, accepted Israels accreditation to the bloc. Powerful AU member states, notably South Africa, protested the decision, saying they had not been properly consulted and that the move contradicted numerous AU statements -- including from Faki himself -- supporting the Palestinian Territories. Earlier Saturday Faki said the AUs commitment to the Palestinian push for independence was "unchanging and can only continue to go stronger". He defended his decision however, saying it could be "an instrument in the service of peace" and called for "a serene debate" on the issue. The summit could also see a vote on whether to back or reject Fakis decision. The accreditation handed Israeli diplomats a victory they had been chasing for nearly two decades, with the foreign ministry describing its previous exclusion as an "anomaly". Israel was previously accredited at the Organization of African Unity (OAU), but lost that status when the body was disbanded and replaced by the AU in 2002.