South Africa’s foreign minister on Monday raised strong concerns about a plane that arrived in the country carrying more than 150 Palestinians.
Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said the chartered flight appeared to be part of a “broader plan” to push Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank through coordinated flights.
Although Lamola did not name who South Africa believes arranged the aircraft, his remarks were widely interpreted as pointing toward Israel, suggesting a coordinated effort to move people out of Palestinian territories.
“We are indeed suspicious […] of the circumstances around the plane’s arrival and the passengers on board,” Lamola stated.
He described the incident as “a clearly planned operation” and claimed it signals “a wider agenda to take Palestinians away from their homeland.”
The Israeli body responsible for civilian matters in Palestinian areas said the passengers left Gaza only after Israel received permission from a third country willing to accept them.
Israel’s government has in the past supported a proposal by former U.S. President Donald Trump to permanently empty Gaza of its more than 2 million residents, a plan criticised by rights organisations as ethnic cleansing. Trump had also said the displaced people would not be allowed to return.
The disputed charter plane landed in Johannesburg on Thursday with 153 Palestinian passengers, including families, children, and a woman close to giving birth.
South African officials said the group lacked the correct travel documents for entry into the country and did not have proper exit papers from Israel.
They were later allowed into South Africa but were initially prevented from leaving the aircraft for about 12 hours at O.R. Tambo International Airport, an action condemned by human rights advocates.
President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that intelligence agencies will investigate who arranged the flight.
