Ariel Seideman has been given 72 hours to leave South Africa. Picture: Embassy of Israel in Pretoria In what appears to be a tit for tat, Israel has now declared South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative in that country persona non grata and given him 72 hours to leave. This comes after the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) on Friday declared Ariel Seidman, the chargé d’affaires at the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria, persona non grata.
Dirco ordered him to leave the country within 72 hours after accusing him of violations that challenge South Africa’s sovereignty. Dirco spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said the“decisive measure” followed a series of unacceptable violationsof diplomatic norms and practice, which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty. A short while later, the Israeli Foreign Ministry took its own action against South Africa.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar decided – following South Africa’s false attacks against Israel in the international arena and the unilateral, baseless step taken against the chargé d’affaires of Israel in South Africa – that South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative, Minister Shaun Edward Byneveldt, is persona non grata and must leave Israel within 72 hours. “Additional steps will be considered in due course,” the ministry said. Byneveldt is South Africa’s ambassador to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
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Phiri responded to Tel Aviv’s decision to declare Byneveldt persona non grata. “Mr Shaun Byneveldt is the ambassador to the State of Palestine, not Israel. Israel’s obstructionism forces a farcical arrangement where he is accredited through the very state that occupies his host country. This underscores Israel’s refusal to honour international consensus on Palestinian statehood.”
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