South Africa Halts Charter Flights for Palestinians Amid Controversy

Tue Nov 18 2025 06:55:07 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The South African government has announced it will no longer accept charter flights carrying Palestinians, citing concerns over a dubious agenda aimed at displacing them from their territories.

Following the contentious arrival of 153 Palestinians from Gaza, South Africa has decided to refuse future charter flights carrying Palestinians. Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola expressed suspicions about the motivations behind these flights, describing them as part of a broader cleansing agenda. The recent flight sparked debate over the coordination and legitimacy of the operation, with allegations of misinformation and exploitation surrounding the travel arrangements.

South Africa has said it does not want to receive any more chartered flights carrying Palestinians, days after the controversial arrival of 153 passengers from Gaza in the country.

Many aspects of their arrival remain unclear and disputed. The flight was part of a clear agenda to cleanse Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank, Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said on Monday. The Israeli authorities have not responded to this allegation but stated that South Africa had previously agreed to accept the 153 Palestinians.

The BBC has reached out to South African authorities for comments regarding this decision, while the Palestinian embassy mentioned that the group left Israel's Ramon Airport, flown to South Africa via Nairobi, without any prior note or coordination. They claimed an unregistered and misleading organization had taken advantage of the situation, misleading families and facilitating their travel irresponsibly.

The flight that sparked this dispute landed at OR Tambo International Airport, where the passengers were initially denied entry due to lack of departure stamps. After an intervention by a local charity, they were eventually allowed to disembark, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa cited empathy and compassion as reasons for the eventual entry of 130 passengers.

In a recent briefing, Lamola indicated that the flight looks suspiciously like part of a broader agenda to remove Palestinians from Palestine into many different parts of the world, suggesting a coordinated effort involved in facilitating these flights to various countries.

The debate surrounding the status of Palestinians and their right to travel has intensified, with South Africa's historical stance favoring Palestinian statehood impacting its recent actions. The country has voiced critical opinions on Israel's military operations, and pro-Palestinian sentiments have been prevalent in South Africa amid current geopolitical tensions.