Israeli group Ad Kan helped discreetly organize “mystery” flights that evacuated Palestinians from Gaza, The Associated Press reported, citing contracts, passenger lists, text messages, financial statements and interviews with Israelis, Palestinians and others involved in the trips.
The AP reported that a plane carrying about 150 Palestinians from Gaza landed in South Africa in November, surprising people on the ground. The AP said it also found that since May, at least three flights filled with Gaza residents who had signed up to leave had landed in Indonesia and South Africa.
AP said the founder of Ad Kan, Gilad Ach, had previously supported Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle Palestinians from Gaza. The AP reported that Ach founded the group after Trump floated the proposal, and that Ad Kan worked through another company to distance links to Israel while organizing the evacuations, according to the documents and accounts AP reviewed.
At the time of the flights, South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola called the trips “a clear agenda to cleanse out the Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank,” the AP reported. AP said it found evidence linking Ad Kan to the flights, while also reporting that several passengers said they did not know who was behind the trip.
Some of those passengers told AP that they boarded because they had little choice. A 37-year-old Palestinian who arrived in South Africa in November said, “There was famine, and we had no options. My children were almost killed,” according to AP, which reported the man spoke anonymously for fear of punishment.
AP reported that the evacuations were organized through a company called Al-Majd, which describes itself on its website as a humanitarian organization “supporting Palestinian lives” and providing aid for Muslim communities in conflict. AP said it investigated Al-Majd’s ties and the history of Ad Kan and its founder, describing Ach as a West Bank settler activist and a staunch supporter of Trump’s Gaza resettlement idea.
The AP reported that after Trump floated the plan last year, Ach published a report describing how he would implement a “voluntary exit,” including an estimate that Israel could complete the emigration process within six to eight months and coordinate with the U.S. AP said the document described the migration of all Palestinians as “entirely feasible” and said emptying the territory of its Palestinian population was an Israeli interest. AP reported that Trump later abandoned the plan, which drew international condemnation and accusations by some that it could amount to “ethnic cleansing.”
Ach, AP reported, denied that the flights were intended to cleanse Gaza and the West Bank of Palestinians. In a text message to AP, Ach said he was proud to lead organizations voicing support for Palestinian rights in Gaza who want to leave for safer parts of the world, “free from Hamas,” and he said the flights were humanitarian and that some people paid part of the costs.
AP reported that Ach declined to answer further questions about the use of Al-Majd to distance links to Israel. AP also reported that Israeli government agencies and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the flights, while COGAT had previously said it allows departures for Palestinians leaving Gaza through Israel if they have visas to destination countries.
The AP reported that its interviews with six Palestinians who left Gaza described hearing about the flights through a company transfer, ads online or on social media, and messages sent through Al-Majd’s website. AP said the Palestinians described paying up to $2,000 per person through bank and cryptocurrency transfers, with route plans communicated through messages and arrangements made through Israeli-controlled departure processes.
AP also reported details from planning contracts and communications connected to the flights. It said American-Israeli businessman Moti Kahana signed a contract in August to organize a flight for Ad Kan and that the contract described a “flight rescue service” with a minimum payment of $750,000. AP said Kahana later said the route changed during planning and that his involvement ended.
After a South Africa-bound flight landed in November, AP reported that South Africa revoked its 90-day visa exemptions for Palestinian passport holders, citing “deliberate and ongoing abuse” by Israelis linked to emigration efforts. AP also reported that it was unclear whether Ad Kan was working directly with Israel’s government, and that Palestinians need Israeli permission to leave Gaza.
Families who flew to South Africa told AP that they were not aware Israelis were behind the flights, but that it did not matter once they could leave. One Palestinian who used Al-Majd to send his wife and son to South Africa said, “I agreed to the flight, and I didn’t know the destination,” according to AP. He added: “All I cared about was getting my family out of Gaza and saving them.”