The US on Tuesday condemned South Africa’s decision to expel Israel’s top diplomat last week, a state department spokesperson said, calling the African nation’s step a part of prioritising “grievance politics”.
“Expelling a diplomat for calling out the ANC’s ties to Hamas and other anti-Semitic radicals prioritises grievance politics over the good of South Africa and its citizens,” Tommy Pigott, the state department’s deputy spokesperson, said on X.
South Africa’s embassy in Washington had no immediate comment.
On Friday last week, South Africa declared the top diplomat at Israel’s embassy persona non grata and ordered him out within 72 hours.
It accused him of “unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice”, including insulting South Africa’s president.
Israel responded by expelling South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative to its country.
Israel and South Africa have had strained relations since South Africa in 2024 brought a genocide case in the International Court of Justice against Israel over its assault on Gaza.
Multiple rights groups, experts and scholars have also called Israel’s assault a genocide. Israel denies that and calls its actions self-defence after an October 2023 Hamas attack.
The genocide case has also contributed to US President Donald Trump’s attacks on Pretoria, including verbal scolding, trade sanctions and an executive order last year cutting US funding.
Reuters
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