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McDonald’s to Buy Back 225 Restaurants From Its Israeli Franchise After Sales Decline From Anti-Israel Boycotts
Israeli customers at a McDonald’s restaurant in Tel Aviv on March 2, 2006. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
McDonald’s Corporation signed an agreement to purchase all of the restaurants that comprise its franchise in Israel, the American fast food chain announced on Thursday after facing an anti-Israel boycott of its stores because of the ongoing war in Gaza.
“For more than 30 years, Alonyal Limited has been proud to bring the Golden Arches to Israel and serve our communities,” said Omri Padan, who is the Israeli owner and CEO of Alonyal Limited. “We’ve grown the brand to be the leading and most successful restaurant chain in Israel and are grateful to our management, employees, suppliers, and customers who made this possible. We are encouraged by what the future holds.”
“We thank Alonyal Limited for building the McDonald’s business and brand in Israel over the past 30 years,” said Jo Sempels, president of international developmental licensed markets at McDonald’s Corporation. “McDonald’s remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.”
McDonald’s reported in February weak sales growth in the Middle East after anti-Israel activists boycotted the brand because its Israeli licensee offered discounts and free meals to Israeli soldiers and other security personnel who were defending the Jewish state after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks launched the ongoing war in Gaza. Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people, mostly civilians, during the massacre last year in southern Israel and a further 253 were taken as hostages back to the Gaza Strip.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in February that the company experienced a drop in sales in some markets outside the Middle East as well because of the boycotts, including Malaysia and Indonesia, both of which have Muslim-majority populations, and France. “The company is monitoring the evolving situation, which it expects to continue to have a negative impact on Systemwide sales and revenue as long as the war continues,” McDonald’s said in a regulatory filing at the time.
Branches of McDonald’s in Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, and Australia were vandalized because of the Israeli franchise’s decision to provide free food and discounts to Israeli soldiers and security forces. Pro-Palestinian rallies were also held outside several other McDonald’s locations around the world, including in London and the US. Some McDonald’s branches in Muslim countries — including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Oman, and Kuwait — published statements distancing themselves from the Israeli franchise while vowing to donate funds to help humanitarian aid efforts in the Gaza Strip.
Kempczinski said the boycotts were a result of “associated misinformation” about the company and its stance in the Israel-Hamas war. The McDonald’s Corporation released its own statement explaining its position during the ongoing fighting.
“We are dismayed by the disinformation and inaccurate reports regarding our position in response to the conflict in the Middle East,” it said in November. “McDonald’s Corporation is not funding or supporting any governments involved in this conflict, and any actions from our local Developmental Licensee business partners were made independently without McDonalds’ content or approval.”
“Our hearts are with all of the communities and families impacted by this crisis,” the company continued. “We abhor violence of any kind and firmly stand against hate speech, and we will always proudly open our doors to everyone. We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our people in the region while supporting the communities where we operate.”
The post McDonald’s to Buy Back 225 Restaurants From Its Israeli Franchise After Sales Decline From Anti-Israel Boycotts first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.