The diplomatic spat between Jerusalem and Pretoria over the Gaza war, which has resulted in South Africa downgrading relations and petitioning the International Court of Justice at The Hague over alleged genocide, has led to a suspension of flights by Israel's national carrier to the country.
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In light of the situation, El Al has decided to stop direct flights to South Africa, just hours before The Hague Court was expected to decide on whether to grant an interim injunction at South Africa's request against Israel, to prevent actions that they claim could amount to "genocide".
Video: Security forces respond to rocket attack / Credit: Erez Linn
The number of Israelis who planned to visit South Africa has been steadily decreasing. This has caused El Al, the largest airline in Israel, to make its decisions both for commercial reasons and because of the ongoing diplomatic uncertainty. As a result, the only way to get to South Africa will be with foreign companies and a stopover along the way.
The estimate is that as a result, the wide-body aircraft of the company will be freed up in the near future to operate direct flights to other destinations.
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