The mysterious transfer of Palestinian families to South Africa by the Israeli regime.
The Qatari media outlet reported on Saturday that details of a controversial Gaza-to-South Africa relocation scheme run by a non-profit organization are slowly emerging.
Al Jazeera, citing activists, said that through the scheme, Israel is encouraging Palestinians to emigrate from Gaza by helping them settle in other countries.
In this regard, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Friday that the country’s intelligence services are investigating the mysterious arrival of a chartered plane in Johannesburg carrying more than 150 Palestinians from Gaza.
Local officials said the group arrived at Oliver Tambo International Airport but were initially denied entry and were held on the plane for more than 10 hours because “their passports did not have the usual exit stamps.”
The South African Border Agency said the Palestinians also did not have exit stamps or papers normally issued by Israeli authorities to people leaving Gaza.
The actions of the South African authorities initially drew strong criticism from NGOs when they refused to allow the passengers to disembark. The 153 Palestinians, including families with children and a woman nine months pregnant, were kept on the plane in harsh conditions, including hot weather and no food or water.
The South African president said an investigation was underway to find out how the Palestinians entered South Africa via a stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Palestinian embassy in South Africa said in a statement that the flight was arranged by an unregistered and misleading organisation. According to the Palestinian embassy, the organization exploited the dire humanitarian situation of the people in Gaza, defrauded families, collected money from them, and facilitated their travel irregularly and irresponsibly. The organization later tried to shirk any responsibility after any problems arose.
An Israeli military official told The Associated Press that an organization called Al-Majd had arranged for the transportation of about 150 Palestinians from Gaza to South Africa. Israel escorted buses organized by Al-Majd that took the Palestinians from a meeting point in the Gaza Strip to the Kerem Shalom crossing. The Al-Majd buses then picked up the Palestinians and took them to Ramon Airport in Israel, where they left.
An organization called Al-Majd Europe has previously been linked to facilitating Palestinian travel out of Gaza, according to The Associated Press. On its website, the organization describes itself as a humanitarian organization founded in Germany in 2010 and based in Jerusalem, providing aid and rescue to Muslim communities in conflict zones.
The website does not list its office phone numbers or exact address. The website states that Al Majd Europe works with various organizations, including 15 international agencies, but no organizations are listed, and the message “to be announced soon” is displayed in that section.