Israel Retaliates, Declares South Africa’s Top Diplomat “Persona Non Grata”

The Israeli government has declared South Africa’s ambassador to Palestine, Shaun Edward Byneveldt, persona non grata in a retaliatory move following South Africa’s expulsion of Israel’s top diplomat.

The diplomatic row began after South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation declared Ariel Seidman, the chargé d’affaires at the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, persona non grata and gave him 72 hours to leave the country.

South African authorities accused Seidman of using official social media platforms to attack President Cyril Ramaphosa and of inviting Israeli officials to the country without government authorisation.

Both expelled officials were their respective countries’ highest-ranking diplomatic representatives, as Israel does not currently have an ambassador in South Africa, and South Africa likewise has no ambassador in Israel.

Announcing Seidman’s expulsion, South Africa’s foreign affairs ministry described his conduct as “a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege.”

Shortly afterwards, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced retaliatory measures, stating that “following South Africa’s false attacks against Israel in the international arena and the unilateral, baseless step taken” against Seidman, Byneveldt had also been declared persona non grata and would be required to leave Israel within 72 hours.

Relations between South Africa and Israel have steadily deteriorated in recent years, particularly after South Africa accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – an allegation Israel has strongly rejected.