McDonald’s to buy back all its Israeli restaurants

McDonald’s is to buy back all its Israeli restaurants after a boycott of the fast-food chain in response to the Israel-Hamas war. 

The company said it had reached an agreement with Alonyal for the return of 225 outlets across the country employing 5,000 people.

McDonald’s was criticised after Alonyal gave away thousands of free meals to Israeli soldiers. 

Sales in the region have drastically slumped since the start of the war in October. 

Alonyal has been running McDonald’s in Israel for more than 30 years. 

On Thursday, McDonald’s said it had signed a deal with Alonyal. The US company said the restaurants, operations and employees would be retained “on equivalent terms” and that it remained “committed to the Israeli market”. Terms of the sale were not revealed.

The boycotts in the Middle East were sparked by Muslim-majority countries such as Kuwait, Malaysia and Pakistan – which issued statements distancing itself from the firm over its perceived support of Israel. 

Although trade in the Middle East was the worst affected, there were also other markets massively impacted including France, Indonesia and Malaysia.