Cape Town, MINA – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an investigation into a “mysterious” chartered flight that brought 153 Palestinian refugees from Gaza into the country without proper documentation on Thursday.
The passengers, who arrived via Nairobi, Kenya, were initially denied entry due to missing departure stamps in their passports and lack of return tickets or accommodation addresses.
After being stranded on the tarmac at OR Tambo International Airport for over 10 hours, the group was eventually granted a 90-day visa exemption.
However, 23 passengers had already departed to other destinations. The Palestinian Embassy in South Africa stated that the flight was arranged by an “unregistered and misleading organization” that exploited Gazans’ humanitarian conditions, collected payments of $1,400-$2,000 per person, and facilitated irregular travel.
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While Israeli military authorities acknowledged approving the departure through a “third country,” humanitarian groups and passengers accused Israel of coordinating an “ethnic cleansing” operation. One passenger described the 24-hour journey as a “trip of suffering,” noting they left without knowing their final destination and that Israeli authorities did not stamp their travel documents.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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