The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has announced an investigation into the “mysterious” landing of a chartered plane carrying 153 Palestinians from Gaza into the country.
The group arrived at OR Tambo International Airport but were first denied entry and were delayed on the plane for more than 10 hours because they “did not have the customary departure stamps in their passports,” according to local authorities.
The majority were eventually allowed in after a local charity intervened and the government demonstrated “empathy [and] compassion,” according to Ramaphosa.
The circumstances behind their evacuation from Gaza and journey to South Africa remain unknown.
South Africa has consistently supported the Palestinian cause during the Gaza conflict.
According to News24, Ramaphosa claimed that the gang “somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi” and flew to South Africa.
The Israeli military group Cogat, which supervises Gaza’s crossings, said in a statement, “The residents left the Gaza Strip after Cogat received approval from a third country to accept them.” It didn’t specify the country.
According to the Palestinian embassy in South Africa, the party left Israel’s Ramon Airport and traveled to Kenya via Nairobi “without any prior notice or coordination.”
A statement issued by the embassy said that “an unregistered and misleading organization [had] exploited the tragic humanitarian conditions of our people in Gaza, deceived families, collected money from them, and facilitated their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner.”
According to South African police, 23 of the 153 managed to fly on to other locations, leaving 130 accepted into the country.
Ramaphosa, speaking at an event in Johannesburg, stated that the home affairs minister alerted him of the impending problem.
According to News24, in response, the president stated that “we cannot turn them back.”
“Even though they do not have the necessary documents and papers, these are people from a strife-torn, a war-torn country.”
According to state broadcaster SABC, the president also assured reporters that the South African government would conduct a “proper evaluation” of the situation and keep the people informed of “what is happening and how this matter came to be where it is.”
