The Israeli chargé d’affaires to South Africa has been given 72 hours to leave the country. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) on Friday, 30 January 2026, said it had declared the Israeli chargé d’affaires to South Africa, Ariel Seidman, persona non grata. “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. SA’s sovereignty and the dignity of its offices are inviolable,” the statement continued. The department added that Seidman had 72 hours to leave South Africa.
He hadserved as chargé d’affairesof Israel to SA since August 2025. MEDIA STATEMENT30 January 2026The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has informed the Government of the State of Israel of its decision to declare Mr. Ariel Seidman, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Israeli Embassy, persona non grata.pic.twitter.com/IINt3ixnCO Senior officials met with Seidman on Friday to inform him that he’d been designated persona non grata, according to a report fromBloomberg.
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The publication reported that the measure against Seidman comes after SA authorities issued him with two diplomatic rebukes in two months. Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, confirmed to Daily Maverick that the department had previously issued a démarche to Seidman. Diplomatic relations between SA and Israel have been strained by Israeli’s war in Gaza and SA’s subsequent genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
In 2019, SApermanently withdrewits ambassador from Tel Aviv, after previously recalling its ambassador to protest against Israeli armed forces killing more than 40 “peaceful” Palestinian protesters in Gaza. In November 2023, the National Assembly voted to cut diplomatic ties with Israel and shut its Embassy in Pretoria, although the Cabinet has not yet made a decision on the closing of its mission. Seidman’s expulsion comes after a delegation of Israeli officials, includingDavid Sarangafrom Israel’s foreign ministry, visited the Eastern Cape earlier this month to meet with King Buyelekhaya Zwelibanzi Dalindyebo, who had visited Israel in December.
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