Jerusalem: Israel on Friday declared South Africa's senior diplomatic representative persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 72 hours, in a tit-for-tat response to Pretoria's expulsion of Israel's charge d'affaires.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that the decision was taken by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. They cited 'false attacks' by South Africa against Israel in international forums and described the expulsion of Israel's charg© d'affaires in Pretoria as a 'unilateral, baseless step.' The ministry stated, 'South Africa's senior diplomatic representative, Shaun Edward Byneveldt, is persona non grata and must leave Israel within 72 hours,' while indicating that 'additional steps will be considered in due course.'

Earlier on Friday, South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation declared Israel's acting ambassador, Ariel Seidman, persona non grata. This action was taken due to 'a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which pose a direct challenge to South Africa's sovereignty,' including remarks considered insulting to President Cyril Ramaphosa. Pretoria also gave Seidman 72 hours to leave the country.

Seidman has been serving as Israel's charge d'affaires since November 2023, when Israel recalled its ambassador after South Africa withdrew its diplomats from Tel Aviv over Israel's actions in Gaza. South Africa, which maintains relations with both Israel and Palestine, lodged a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023. The case accused Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention concerning its actions against Palestinians in Gaza.

Since then, the ICJ has issued several provisional measures ordering Israel to prevent acts of genocide. More than 71,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and over 171,000 others injured in the ongoing conflict since October 2023.