South Africa declared Ariel Seidman, the Israeli chargé d'affaires, persona non grata on Friday and ordered him to leave the country within 72 hours. He is the highest-ranking Israeli diplomat in Pretoria since the recall of the Israeli ambassador in 2023.
According to the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the expulsion was motivated by repeated official posts on Israeli social media deemed insulting to President Cyril Ramaphosa. Pretoria also denounced a deliberate breach of diplomatic protocol, accusing the Israeli mission of failing to inform South Africa of visits by Israeli officials.
This decision comes amid already severely strained relations between the two countries, particularly since South Africa filed a case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel firmly rejects these accusations and accuses Pretoria of providing legal support to Hamas.
The expulsion could also provoke further tensions with Washington. The United States, an ally of Israel, has been criticizing South Africa's foreign policy for several months, deeming it "anti-American," a dispute reignited since the return of Donald Trump to the presidency.
