South Africa Halts Palestinian Charter Flights Amid 'Cleansing Agenda' Claims

Tue Nov 18 2025 01:38:10 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a controversial decision, South Africa has announced it will no longer accept charter flights carrying Palestinians, citing concerns over a purported agenda aimed at displacing them from Gaza and the West Bank.

Following the arrival of a group of Palestinians from Gaza, South African authorities have declared their intention to refuse further charter flights, alleging that the movement of these individuals forms part of a broader 'cleansing agenda'. Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola raised alarms about the implications of such flights, which he suggested are orchestrated operations designed to remove Palestinians from their homeland. While the situation remains fluid with responses from both local and international factions, South African officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding recent arrivals.

South Africa has announced that it will no longer receive any more chartered flights carrying Palestinians, following the contentious arrival of 153 passengers from Gaza.

The arrival of the flight has sparked various questions and disputes.

According to South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola, the operation was indicative of a broader agenda to cleanse Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.

No response has yet been provided from Israeli authorities; however, they have indicated that South Africa had initially agreed to accept the group of Palestinians.

In related developments, the Palestinian embassy asserted that the passengers traveled from Israel's Ramon Airport to South Africa via Nairobi, without any prior coordination.

They accused an unregistered organization of taking advantage of the situation, deceiving families, and facilitating irregular travel.

The Palestinian foreign ministry stated they are working with South Africa to resolve the issues stemming from this situation.

The flight at the center of the controversy landed at OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday, but passengers were initially refused entry as they lacked departure stamps in their passports.

After a prolonged wait onboard, with assistance from a local charity, the group was eventually permitted to disembark. President Cyril Ramaphosa noted this was a decision made from empathy [and] compassion; ultimately, 130 of the passengers were allowed into South Africa.

Regarding the broader implications of such flights, Lamola expressed concerns that these operations signify an ongoing strategy to relocate Palestinians to various countries worldwide.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has mentioned plans for the voluntary resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza, drawing criticism from various sectors, including human rights organizations.

Diving deeper into the matter, South Africa has been historically supportive of the Palestinian struggle for statehood, a stance that dates back to the anti-apartheid era with figures like Nelson Mandela explicitly backing the Palestinian cause.

As tensions rise, South Africa continues to voice its disapproval of Israel's military actions in Gaza, recently filing accusations of genocide against the state, claims that Israel has dismissed as baseless.