Protests force KFC branch in Algeria to close over support to Israel

ALGIERS, Algeria

Just two days after its opening in Algeria, the American fast-food chain KFC closed its first branch in the capital Algiers amid protests over US support to Israel.

KFC, along with several other Western brands, faces boycott campaigns worldwide over accusations of financially supporting Israel in its destructive war on the Gaza Strip.

The KFC branch in the Dali Ibrahim area west of Algiers closed its doors on Wednesday two days after its opening on Monday, according to Algerian media.

Shortly after its opening, Algerians demonstrated outside the branch, accusing KFC of financially supporting Israel in its ongoing war on the Palestinian enclave since Oct. 7, 2023.

There has been no comment from the Algerian authorities on the KFC branch’s closure yet.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border Hamas attack, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 33,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 76,600 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul