South Africa tells Israel’s ambassador to leave

South Africa has expelled Israel‘s ambassador to the country, Ariel Seidman, declaring him persona non grata on Friday.

The South African government accused Seidman of “unacceptable violations” and said he had 72 hours to leave.

What South Africa’s foreign ministry said

“This decisive measure follows a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practise which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty,” the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said in a statement.

“These violations include the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks against His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa,” the ministry said.

The foreign ministry also accused Seidman of failing to inform South African authorities of “purported visits by senior Israeli officials.”

DIRCO went on to say that this constituted a “gross abuse of diplomatic privilege” and said it was in violation of the Vienna Convention.

Israel’s diplomatic mission in South Africa has not yet responded to the latest development.

South Africa-Israel diplomatic ties

Ties between Israel and South Africa have been on a downward trajectory since it lodged a case of genocide with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for its actions in Gaza.

Israel rejected the case saying it “makes a mockery” of what constitutes genocide.

In 2023, South African lawmakers ⁠​also voted in favor of shutting down the Israeli diplomatic mission in ‌Pretoria ‌and suspending all diplomatic relations because of the war in Gaza, a decision that was never implemented.

The latest fallout with Israel is also likely to inflame tensions with the US, who earlier this month said “South Africa can’t lecture the world while cozying up to Iran,” one of Israel’s arch enemies.

A few weeks ago, South Africa held naval drills in its territorial waters and hosted Iranian warships that also involved China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar