South Africa expels Israeli envoy, Israel retaliates with own expulsion
South Africa declared Israel's envoy persona non grata Friday, citing insulting social media attacks and unauthorized visits by Israeli officials. Israel expelled a South African envoy hours later.
January 30, 2026
South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation announced Friday that it was expelling Ariel Seidman, chargé d'affaires at the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, declaring him persona non grata and giving him 72 hours to leave the country.
The ministry accused Seidman of "a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which pose a direct challenge to South Africa's sovereignty." The violations cited included the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks against President Cyril Ramaphosa and a deliberate failure to inform South African authorities of purported visits by senior Israeli officials.
The ministry characterized Seidman's actions as a "gross abuse of diplomatic privilege" and said they violated the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.
Within hours of South Africa's announcement, Israel responded by expelling Shaun Edward Byneveldt, South Africa's ambassador to Palestine, in a tit-for-tat move.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since South Africa accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians at the International Court of Justice, a charge Israel has rejected. South Africa filed the case at the ICJ in January 2024, alleging that Israel's military operations in Gaza constitute genocide under international law.