South African authorities are probing how a chartered aircraft carrying 153 Palestinians unexpectedly landed in Johannesburg this week, with officials raising concerns over the role of an unregistered organisation allegedly behind the trip.
The passengers — many of whom lacked travel documents, departure stamps, return tickets or accommodation details — arrived from Kenya on a Global Airways flight on Thursday.
Border officials initially refused them entry because none had applied for asylum.
South Africa later admitted 130 of the passengers on 90-day short-stay visas after humanitarian group Gift of the Givers stepped in to provide shelter and assistance. The remaining 23 have since travelled onward to other destinations.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, the group left Gaza early Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing after undergoing Israeli security checks. They were transported to Ramon Airport in southern Israel, flown to Nairobi, and then boarded a chartered flight to Johannesburg.
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman said many of the Palestinians were unaware of their final destination until they reached Kenya. Some reportedly held visas for countries such as Canada, Australia and Malaysia and were eventually cleared to continue to those destinations.
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Sooliman said those remaining in South Africa could apply for further extensions of their 90-day stay, pursue student visas, relocate to any country willing to accept them, or lodge asylum applications.
The South African Zionist Federation, however, dismissed suggestions that the group was misled, calling the claims “a calculated distortion,” noting that Israel issues electronic visas rather than physical passport stamps.
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories told Haaretz that the Palestinians had received South African visas in advance, adding that Israel’s standard procedure ensures departing Gazans have a receiving country.
South Africa’s Home Affairs Ministry said the Palestinian Authority’s embassy in Pretoria had reported that an unregistered organisation collected money from the travellers and later attempted to evade responsibility when problems emerged.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government will investigate the full chain of events.
“We need to understand where this journey began and why they were brought here,” he told reporters. “But out of compassion — and because we have consistently supported the Palestinian people — we decided to allow them entry.”
Ramaphosa said intelligence services and relevant ministries are conducting a full assessment to determine next steps.
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