Adedokun Waliyu 
South Africa has declared Israel’s top diplomat in the country, charge d’affaires Ariel Seidman, “persona non grata” and given him 72 hours to leave, citing a series of violations of diplomatic norms.
Ties between the two nations are already strained, with South Africa filing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in 2023, arguing that Israel’s war on Gaza breached the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
The foreign ministry accused the Israeli embassy of repeated insulting attacks on President Cyril Ramaphosa via social media, including a tweet mocking his stance on boycotts, and a deliberate failure to inform South Africa of visits by senior Israeli officials, such as a recent delegation to the Eastern Cape offering aid.
These actions represent a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege and a breach of the Vienna Convention, undermining bilateral trust, according to the statement.
South Africa, supportive of the Palestinian cause, has seen regular protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza; its embassy in Tel Aviv has been closed since November 2023.
