McDonald’s is buying its 30-year-old Israel franchise from Alonyal Ltd, taking back ownership of 225 restaurants in the country that employs more than 5,000 people, the companies said on Thursday.

The US fast-food chain has been subject to boycotts and protests since Alonyal announced shortly after the 7 October attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas that it would be donating free meals to Israeli military.

McDonald’s is a global chain but its franchises are often owned locally and operate autonomously.

Its CEO, Chris Kempczinski, had said in January the company has seen “meaningful impact” in several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“McDonald’s remains committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience in the market going forward,” Jo Sempels, president of international developmental licensed markets, said on Thursday.

After the completion of the transaction in the coming months, McDonald’s will own Alonyal’s restaurants and operations while retaining its employees, according to Omri Padan, CEO and owner of Alonyal.

The companies did not disclose the terms of the transaction.

Another major Western fast food chain, Starbucks, has also seen boycott campaigns over their perceived pro-Israeli stance and alleged financial ties to Israel.

Reuters also reported that McDonald’s in Scotland did not publish a customer notice congratulating the Israeli military on the killing of thousands of civilians in Gaza, as suggested in social media posts sharing a photo of a poster bearing that message and the company’s logo.

The notice was created by an activist group and displayed at McDonald’s outlets across Glasgow. Art Workers for Palestine Scotland did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Images of the poster show a yellow McDonald’s logo with the words, “We are proud to say that McDonalds supplies the Israeli military with free meals, especially while the rest of Gaza starves. We simply don’t care.”

McDonald’s Corporation told Reuters that the poster is not authentic, adding: “We are dismayed by the disinformation and inaccurate reports regarding our position in response to the conflict in the Middle East. McDonald’s Corporation is not funding or supporting any governments involved in this conflict.”

McDonald’s Corporation, the parent company, distanced itself from the move to give free meals to the Israel military by its Israel subsidiary, saying the decision was made independently by local franchisees.

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