US EditionSouth Africa declares Israel’s deputy ambassador persona non grata, orders him to leave country
South Africa expelled Israel's deputy ambassador for violating diplomatic norms, including insulting President Ramaphosa on official social media, ordering departure within 72 hours.
- On Friday, South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation declared Ariel Seidman persona non grata and ordered him to leave within 72 hours.
- Citing sovereignty concerns, South Africa listed social media attacks on President Cyril Ramaphosa and failures to notify planned visits by senior Israeli officials.
- Seidman is the most senior Israeli diplomat in South Africa since 2023 after Israel recalled its ambassador, while David Saranga, dispatched as a visiting ambassador, met King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo in recent weeks.
- The expulsion leaves Israel without an accredited senior diplomat in South Africa, with Israel's embassy in Pretoria operating with reduced staff while Israeli officials weigh their response and the move may provoke a strong reaction from the United States.
- This escalation follows prior diplomatic withdrawals and the World Court case, as South African officials saw Israeli envoy activity as a de facto imposition escalating tensions.
52 Articles
52 Articles
Israel's deputy ambassador is to leave South Africa within 72 hours. Israel then declared South Africa's business representative to be an undesirable person.
Israel, South Africa Expel Each Other’s Senior Diplomats Amid Deepening Rift
JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Israel and South Africa escalated a diplomatic standoff Friday by expelling each other’s senior representatives, deepening a rupture driven largely by sharp disagreements over Israel’s war in Gaza. Join our WhatsApp group Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email South Africa’s foreign ministry said it had declared Israel’s top diplomat in the country, […]
South African envoy told to leave Israel after ban on Israel's acting ambassador
The diplomatic spat broke out after South Africa declared the Israeli embassy's chief of mission a persona non grata, citing 'gross abuse of diplomatic privilege' and demanding that the diplomat leave the country. Israel's prime minister and foreign minister rebuked by ordering the South African envoy to leave the country
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