Two charter flights carrying Palestinians from Gaza—one on Oct. 28 and another on Nov. 13-14—landed in South Africa. What might have been a standard humanitarian entry turned into a diplomatic storm after passengers on the second flight were detained for roughly 12 hours on the tarmac at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport while officials questioned their paperwork.

South African authorities eventually granted some 130 of the 153 arrivals 90-day visas. The other 23 continued to other destinations, according to South Africa’s Border Management Authority. But the case was quickly turned into a political football, fueling a false narrative that Israel was forcing Palestinians out of Gaza, informed sources told JNS.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa suggested that the passe

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