South Africa’s government has raised alarms over a charter flight carrying more than 150 Palestinian passengers that landed in Johannesburg last week, calling the incident part of a possible coordinated effort to remove Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank. Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said on Monday that authorities were “deeply suspicious” of the circumstances surrounding the flight, which carried 153 Palestinians, including children and a nine-months-pregnant woman. Lamola described the situation as “a clearly orchestrated operation” that may be linked to broader attempts to depopulate the occupied territories.
Although he did not name who Pretoria believes arranged the flight, his remarks were widely interpreted as pointing toward Israel. Lamola said the charter appeared to fit into “a broader agenda to remove Palestinians from Palestine,” echoing concerns long raised by South African officials and civil society groups. Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said the passengers left Gaza after Israel received approval from a third country willing to receive them. Israel has previously expressed support for proposals from former U.S. President Donald Trump to permanently empty Gaza of its residents, a plan human rights groups warned would amount to ethnic cleansing.
The controversy stems from the group’s arrival at O.R. Tambo International Airport on Thursday. Immigration officials blocked the passengers from disembarking for nearly 12 hours, saying many lacked proper entry documents for South Africa as well as valid exit permits from Israel. Rights organizations sharply criticized the incident as inhumane. After humanitarian consultations involving South African officials and the Palestinian embassy, the passengers were eventually allowed to enter the country under normal visa exemptions for Palestinian passport holders.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an intelligence investigation to determine who arranged the flight. Civic groups in South Africa have accused a Jerusalem-based organization called Al-Majd of coordinating the travel and having links to Israeli authorities, though no evidence has been publicly presented. Lamola said the government does not want additional flights of this nature arriving without transparency: “We will not allow any operation that contributes to cleansing Palestinians out of Gaza or the West Bank.” South Africa remains one of the most outspoken supporters of Palestinian rights globally and is currently pursuing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
