MCDONALDS HAS ANNOUNCED that it will be dropping the Middle East’s most popular fast food from its menu in Israel – because the product is simply not selling highly enough.

Falafel, which is considered a national dish in Israel, was introduced by McDonalds earlier this year in an attempt to muscle in on the popular on-street market for the pitta bread stuffed with ground chickpeas, salad and pickles.

But the local news website Ynet reports that the world’s largest fast food chain is now pulling the option – because local customers simply don’t want to go to a McDonalds for a vegetarian dish.

The dish – which, of course, was named ‘McFalafel’ – is to be quietly removed at the same time as a new premium burger made of prime rib which will cost around €6.50.

The Guardian posits that the rethink probably comes as Israeli consumers categorise McDonalds specifically as a burger chain.

“I wouldn’t dream of eating [McFalafel],” one shopper told its reporter in a café around the corner from one McDonalds. “McDonalds is a burger place.”

The decision is a rare admission of defeat for the globally-recognised burger chain.