Diplomatic row: South Africa, Israel expel each other's envoys

South Africa and Israel expel each other’s envoys, deepening their diplomatic feud. [File, Standard]

South Africa and Israel have expelled each other’s senior diplomats in a new diplomatic clash.

On Friday, January 30, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) announced that Ariel Seidman, Chargé d’Affaires of the Israeli Embassy in South Africa, has been declared persona non grata and must leave the country within 72 hours.

According to DIRCO, the decision followed repeated breaches of diplomatic norms, including the use of Israeli official social media to insult President Cyril Ramaphosa and the failure to notify South Africa of visits by senior Israeli officials.

"Such actions represent a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege and a fundamental breach of the Vienna Convention. They have systematically undermined the trust and protocols essential for bilateral relations," DIRCO stated.

In response, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that South Africa’s senior diplomat in Israel, Minister Shaun Edward Byneveldt, is unwelcome and must leave Israel within 72 hours.

"Following South Africa’s false attacks against Israel in the international arena and the unilateral, baseless step taken against the Chargé d’Affaires of Israel in South Africa, South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative, Minister Shaun Edward Byneveldt, is persona non grata and must leave Israel within 72 hours," read a post by Israel's foreign ministry on X.

Relations between the two countries have been tense since the end of apartheid in 1994, when Nelson Mandela visited Israel but was critical of the country’s treatment of Palestinians.

In 2023, during the Gaza war, the feud continued after South Africa sued Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians in violation of the Genocide Convention.

South African lawmakers also voted to suspend diplomatic ties and close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, a move that was not implemented, as Israel currently maintains an embassy in Pretoria and a trade office in Johannesburg, while South Africa has an embassy in Tel Aviv.

However, Friday's reciprocal expulsions mark a significant deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two countries.