PA warns of networks tied to Israel’s displacement scheme after Gaza flight landed in South Africa

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has warned that Palestinians in Gaza are being targeted by shadowy networks operating as part of an Israeli scheme to remove them from their homeland.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the warning hours after a plane arrived in South Africa, carrying 153 Palestinians on Friday.

Most of the passengers were from Gaza and did not have proper travel documents, according to South Africa’s authorities.

The Palestinian embassy in Pretoria warned that companies, unofficial entities, and unregistered intermediaries inside Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory are attempting to mislead Palestinians and incite them to leave.

“The ministry calls upon our people, especially those in the Gaza Strip, to exercise caution and not fall prey to human trafficking, to merchants and companies of blood, and to agents of displacement,” it said.

The embassy added that it is working to assist the travelers, who have “endured over two years of Israeli genocidal war, killing, displacement, and destruction.”

South Africa granted 90-day visas to the passengers of the flight, who reportedly departed from Ramon airport in southern Israel.

According to South Africa’s Border Management Authority, 130 Palestinians entered the country, while 23 were transferred to other destinations directly from the airport. Most are expected to apply for asylum.

Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of the South African humanitarian aid organization Gift of the Givers, said he did not know who had chartered the aircraft.

But he added that accounts from the Palestinian arrivals indicate Israel is removing people from Gaza and placing them on planes without stamping their passports, leaving them stranded in third countries.

Sooliman said a previous plane carrying 176 Palestinians landed in Johannesburg on October 28, with some passengers continuing to other countries.

The Israeli military organization in charge of Gaza border crossings claimed it received approval from a third country to accept the Palestinians as part of Tel Aviv’s policy allowing Gaza residents to leave. The third country was not named, though.

Author Antony Loewenstein, however, believes the transit scheme could have been operating for weeks or months before being noticed. Loewenstein told Al Jazeera that there have been reports about companies organizing such flights, which “requires Israeli permission as well as other countries’ permissions.”

“This is the concept of people making money out of other people’s misery,” he said, describing it as "a form of ethnic cleansing."

Israel has repeatedly threatened that Gaza’s population will be pushed to “leave in great numbers to third countries.” Earlier this year, Israel’s cabinet approved a controversial plan to facilitate what it called the “voluntary transfer” of Palestinians from Gaza to other countries.

Human rights groups warn that any such mass displacement would constitute ethnic cleansing, an act associated with war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.

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