McDonald's buys all Israeli franchise restaurants amid boycotts

Aljazeera said that McDonald’s announced it will purchase its 30-year-old Israel franchise from Alonyal Ltd., taking back control of 225 outlets that employ more than 5,000 people.

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After US fast-food business Alonyal announced that it would be giving free meals to the Israeli soldiers in response to the October 7 bombing by Palestinian group Hamas, there were protests and boycotts.

While McDonald’s is a global corporation, its franchises are typically locally owned and operate independently. Its CEO, Chris Kempczinski, said previously that the company had seen “meaningful business impact” in several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, as per Aljazeera.

“For more than 30 years, Alonyal Limited has been proud to bring the Golden Arches to Israel and serve our communities,” Omri Padan, CEO and owner of Alonyal, said in a statement on Thursday.

According to Aljazeera, McDonald’s added that it “remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward.”