South Africa Halts Charter Flights Carrying Palestinians Amid Cleansing Concerns

Tue Nov 18 2025 08:00:30 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a controversial move, South Africa announces it will no longer accept charter flights transporting Palestinians, citing fears of a 'cleansing agenda' following the arrival of 153 passengers from Gaza.

South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola expressed serious concerns over the arrival of Palestinians via chartered flights, suggesting it is part of a broader agenda to disperse Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank. Authorities have stated that the country will no longer accept such flights after the contentious arrival of 153 Palestinians, raising suspicions regarding the motives behind the transport of these individuals. The Palestinian embassy in South Africa claims that the group traveled under misleading pretenses. Protests and political discourse regarding the plight of Palestinians continue in South Africa, reflecting the nation's historical support for their cause.

South Africa has announced it will not permit further charter flights transporting Palestinians, following the arrival of a controversial flight carrying 153 passengers from Gaza. Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola indicated that this decision arose from suspicions of a 'cleansing agenda' aimed at removing Palestinians from their homeland.

Details surrounding the arrival of the chartered flight are unclear, raising tensions and prompting objections. The Israeli government has yet to respond to South Africa's claims, although it asserts that there was prior agreement for the Palestinians' transfer.

The Palestinian embassy stated that this group left Israel's Ramon Airport, traveling through Nairobi without proper coordination or notice. They accused an 'unregistered and misleading organization' of deceiving families and facilitating unauthorized travel.

The flight landed in South Africa on Thursday, where passengers faced entry denial due to the absence of departure stamps in their passports. After over ten hours stuck on the tarmac, and following intervention from a charity, authorities allowed 130 of the passengers to disembark, while 23 departed for other destinations.

During a media briefing, Minister Lamola described the event as potentially orchestrated, implying it was part of a coordinated effort to relocate Palestinians to multiple countries. This sentiment aligns with the ongoing criticisms of Israel's military actions in Gaza, with South Africa being vocally supportive of the Palestinian cause since the apartheid era.

Approximately two weeks prior, another flight arriving in Johannesburg had carried 176 Palestinians, with similar concerns raised about their transport. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advocated for voluntary resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza, which has faced backlash from numerous observers.

South Africa's critique of Israeli policies intensified during the recent conflict, with the country pursuing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over allegations of genocide in Gaza, which Israel has categorically rejected as groundless.