South Africa declares Israeli diplomat persona non grata
South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) on Friday declared Israeli Charge d’Affaires Ariel Seidman persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 72 hours.
DIRCO said the decision followed “a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice” by Seidman, which it described as posing “a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty,” News.Az reports, citing Xinhua.
“These violations include the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks against President Cyril Ramaphosa, and a deliberate failure to inform DIRCO of purported visits by senior Israeli officials,” the department said in a statement.
According to DIRCO, Seidman’s actions constituted “a gross abuse of diplomatic privilege and a fundamental breach of the Vienna Convention,” and had systematically undermined the trust and protocols essential to bilateral relations.
The department urged the Israeli government to ensure that its future diplomatic engagement respects South Africa’s sovereignty and adheres to established principles of international relations.
By Nijat Babayev
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