Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – McDonald’s fast food restaurants are now being boycotted by people around the world. This boycott is the result of McDonald’s policy of providing free food to Israeli army troops (IDF). Not only that, the Israeli branch of McDonald’s is also said to be offering IDF a 50 percent discount on additional food.

Pro-Palestinian customers see McDonald’s initiative in Israel as part of Western support for the ongoing war in Gaza.

Arab and Muslim communities on social media also condemned the post and called on customers to boycott McDonald’s as a form of support for Palestinians in Gaza, which is blockaded by Israel.

Worried about the boycott movement, cMcDonald’s branches in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, Turkey and Pakistan emphasized that they pursue different policies from the Israeli branch. They emphasized that McDonald’s is not responsible for what its franchisees do in other countries, as reported by Ahram Online.

McDonald’s Egypt, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia donated EGP 20 million, US$250 million and SR 2 million to help Palestinians in the area.

McDonald’s Turkey also announced the provision of US$ 1 million in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

Palestinian advocates reported that hours after the boycott call, posts published by McDonald’s Israel had been removed or were inaccessible. However, screenshots of these tweets and posts are everywhere on social media.

In Egypt, user X named Eslam Diab wrote that boycotting McDonald’s was the most important thing to do to support the Palestinian cause. Another user named Sameh Ahmed wrote that all Egyptians should boycott McDonald’s as their duty.

On the other hand, several other users opposed calls to boycott McDonald’s, citing potential layoffs that could impact thousands of Egyptian employees working in McDonald’s restaurants across the country.

In its statement, McDonald’s Egypt, which is owned by tycoon Yassin Mansour, stressed that it is a 100 percent Egyptian company.

“McDonald’s parent company’s role is to allow us to use the brand name and provide us with the experience and knowledge to provide the best service to our customers,” the statement said.

In a follow-up statement, McDonald’s Egypt announced that it was donating money to the Palestinian cause and voiced its sympathy for Palestinian families affected by Israeli bombings.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(hsy/hsy)