TEL AVIV: The plane carrying about 150 Palestinians from Gaza came as a surprise to everyone on the ground when it landed in South Africa in November.
It wasn’t the only one. Since May, at least three flights filled with Gaza residents who’d signed up to leave the war-torn enclave have landed in Indonesia and South Africa.
An Israeli group whose founder adamantly supported US President Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle Palestinians from Gaza is behind the flights, an AP investigation has found, raising further questions about the motives behind the evacuation of hundreds of people from the strip.
At the time, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola called the flights a “clear agenda to cleanse out the Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank.”
Ad Kan, an Israeli organization founded by soldiers and former intelligence officers, worked via another company to distance links to Israel and organize the flights, according to a contract, passenger lists, text messages, financial statements, and interviews with more than two dozen Israelis, Palestinians and other people involved with the trips.
