Johannesburg – Israeli media exploited the temporary delay in allowing 160 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to enter Johannesburg, portraying it as “hypocrisy” and “double standards” on the part of South Africa, which is leading an international legal campaign to prosecute Israel for genocide at the International Court of Justice.
Headlines such as “Authorities refuse to let them off the plane” spread across Haaretz, accompanied by sarcastic comments accusing South Africa of hypocrisy. One reader wrote: “Is this the same South Africa that is against us and with the Gazans? The whole world sees the hypocrisy.”
This deliberate media distortion ignored the fact that the delay was a temporary measure while authorities investigated the unclear circumstances of their arrival. The presidency later intervened decisively to allow their entry, following revelations about the involvement of a suspicious organisation, “Majd Europe,” which had arranged these flights, raising concerns about a coordinated, funded “soft displacement” operation.
South Africa’s Border Management Authority confirmed the arrival of 160 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Thursday, 14 November, marking the second such flight organised by Majd Europe.
The first flight had arrived on 28 October carrying 176 Palestinians, and both flights have generated widespread controversy and concern among civil society groups.
In an official statement to the media, Memme Mogotsi, Deputy Commissioner for Communications and Marketing at the Border Management Authority, said the passengers on the latest flight were initially denied entry, but the presidency granted them an exemption after verification and intervention. She added that by the time the exemption was approved, 23 of the 160 passengers had already departed South Africa to their final destinations. As a result, only 137 passengers were processed for entry under the sponsorship of the Waqf al Waqifeen Foundation.
Mogotsi confirmed that Palestinians eligible for visa-free entry to South Africa for a period of 90 days were handled according to standard procedures and will be required to comply with all entry conditions.
A Journey into the Unknown
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, researcher Naeem Jeenah, spokesperson for the “Coalition of Civil Society Organisations Responding to the Crisis”, revealed that Palestinians paid between 1,500 and 5,000 dollars per person to the organising institution after registering through its online platform.
He explained that they were informed of their departure time only a few hours before takeoff and were instructed to bring small backpacks. However, upon crossing from northern Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, “they were told that even backpacks were not allowed and that they could only take their phones, passports, and some money.”
Jeenah added that the passengers were transported on Israeli buses to Ramon Airport and placed on an unmarked aircraft without being informed of their destination. The plane first landed in Nairobi, Kenya, before they were transferred to a chartered flight bound for South Africa.
As for the first flight that arrived on 28 October, passengers received WhatsApp messages directing them to specific Uber cars, at their own expense, to take them to guesthouses and cheap hotels scattered across Johannesburg.
Their accommodation was booked for only seven days, after which all communication from the organising institution ceased, leaving them in complete uncertainty. Passengers on the second flight did not receive similar messages.
A Crisis at the Airport
When the second flight carrying 160 Palestinians landed, the Border Management Authority initially refused to allow them to disembark, leading to a humanitarian crisis onboard.
During the critical hours of waiting, civil society groups voiced strong criticism of the delay. Jeenah described the initial response as “shameful” and “inhumane”, questioning how a country could “file a case in The Hague, but when real refugees from Gaza arrive at our doorstep, desperate and traumatised, we turn them away? Honestly, we should be ashamed.”
He explained that the refugees “had been deceived by the Israelis”, and that the Border Management Authority used the absence of exit stamps as a pretext to deny them entry, despite their status as asylum seekers.
Under pressure from civil society and growing concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation, the South African presidency intervened decisively and granted an exemption for the passengers “on humanitarian grounds”.
Jeenah praised the government’s intervention, telling Al Jazeera Net: “The government’s actions were remarkable. We are grateful for the swift response and facilitation.”
The Waqf al Waqifeen Foundation issued a statement thanking the government for “rescuing the stranded Palestinian refugees.” The Border Management Authority also confirmed in an official statement that the requests of 137 passengers were processed for entry under the foundation’s sponsorship.
Testimony from the Heart of the Crisis
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Nigel Branken, one of the volunteer activists present at the airport from the first moments, recounted the ordeal experienced by the Palestinian passengers.
Branken said, “The situation on the plane was catastrophic. They were left on the tarmac all day in an aircraft with no air conditioning or toilets. There were infants and young children, and they received no food until aid arrived.”
He added that they only learned about the flight’s arrival thanks to the father of one of the passengers, whom Branken described as “courageous”. His daughter, nine months pregnant, was onboard.
“If it weren’t for his intervention, we would not have known the plane was arriving. We contacted the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and informed them, but they had no knowledge of the situation,” Branken said, noting that the department later intervened positively.
Branken confirmed that Israel deliberately avoided stamping the passengers’ passports “to use this small technicality as a pretext to deny them entry”, stressing that South Africa’s refugee law guarantees the right to seek asylum regardless of the mode of entry or the presence of documentation.
Gazans don’t carry passports. These hostages were expelled and smuggled with the conaivance of Kenya which forced them in the same way on South African airliner s. Get your facts correct.