Diplomatic row deepens as SA orders Israeli envoy to leave

South Africa has declared Israel's top diplomat in the country "persona non grata" and given him 72 hours to leave, the foreign ministry said Friday.

South Africa has a testy relationship with Israel, being a leading critic of its actions in Gaza and bringing a case before the UN's top court in December 2023, arguing that its war in the Palestinian territory amounted to genocide.

The move against the charge d'affaires follows "a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

This included "the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks" on President Cyril Ramaphosa, it said.

The ministry had informed Israel that Ariel Seidman, is "declared persona non grata" and "required to depart from the Republic within 72 hours".

There had also been a "deliberate failure" by the embassy to inform the foreign ministry of purported visits by senior Israeli officials, the statement said.

"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," it said.

The condemnation of the envoy came days after an Israeli delegation visited South Africa's Eastern Cape province, where they reportedly offered to provide water, healthcare, and agriculture expertise. The visit was criticised as a breach of diplomatic protocol.

br/ach