McDonald’s has agreed to buy back its Israeli restaurants after the country’s war with Hamas sparked a global boycott of the fast-food brand.
The company has reached a deal with Alonyal for the return of 225 outlets.
McDonald’s has seen a slump in its sales in the Middle East after Alonyal announced it had given away thousands of free meals to Israeli soldiers.
Following the start of the war, sparked by Hamas’s slaughter of about 1,200 people on October 7, the franchise said it was donating meals “to all those who are involved in the defence of the state, hospitals, and surrounding areas”.
That sparked a boycott in Muslim -majority Middle East countries, spreading to other nations including France and Indonesia.
The US company said the restaurants, operations and 5,000 employees would be kept “on equivalent terms”. It remains “committed to the Israeli market”, it added.
