South Africa to investigate ‘mystery’ of planeload of Palestinians, Cyril Ramaphosa says

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said an investigation will be launched into the “mysterious” arrival of a charter plane carrying 153 Palestinians from Gaza into the country.

Local authorities said the group arrived at OR Tambo International Airport but were initially refused entry and remained stuck on the plane for more than 10 hours because they “did not have the usual departure stamps in their passports.”

Most were eventually allowed in after intervention from a local charity and because of government “sympathy”. [and] “Mercy,” Ramaphosa said.

The circumstances of their departure from Gaza and travel to South Africa remain unclear.

South Africa maintained its strong support for the Palestinian cause throughout the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.

Ramaphosa said the group was “mysteriously put on a plane that passed over Nairobi” and headed to South Africa, News24 reported.

The Israeli military authority that controls the Gaza crossings said in a statement: “The residents left the Gaza Strip after Kogat obtained approval from a third country to receive them.”

According to the Palestinian Embassy in South Africa, the group left Israel’s Ramon Airport and headed to the country via the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, “without any prior notice or coordination.”

“An unregistered and misleading organization,” an embassy statement said [had] It exploited the tragic humanitarian conditions that our people in Gaza were experiencing, deceived their families, collected money from them, and facilitated their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner.

South African authorities say that of the 153 people, 23 were able to travel to other destinations, leaving 130 people who were accepted into the country.

During an event in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa said he was informed of the unfolding crisis by the Home Affairs Minister.

In response, the president said, “We cannot send them back,” according to News24.

“Although they do not have the necessary documents and papers, these are people from a country torn by war and conflicts.”

The president also told reporters that the South African government would make a “proper assessment” of the matter and update the public on “what is happening and how this matter got to where it is,” according to public broadcaster SABC.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that while Palestinian passport holders are eligible to enter South Africa without a visa for 90 days, the lack of departure stamps, return tickets or residence addresses on some traveler documents led to the initial refusal to allow them into the country.

Once it was confirmed that the absence of this information “does not indicate that the travelers wish to apply for asylum” and their place of residence was confirmed, they were granted entry.

He added, “All the travelers hold valid passports, and none of them have applied for asylum at the present time.”

South Africa’s charity Gift of the Givers said it would provide the group with accommodation in the country.

Civil society organizations in South Africa called for investigations into the circumstances of the Palestinians’ escape from Gaza and the exact path of the plane.

One Palestinian who spoke to local eNCA TV expressed his relief at being in South Africa, describing it as a country of “peace, laws and justice.”

“We came from Gaza, where we face death every day,” said a man who fled with his wife and two children. “We survived a two-year war and we are lucky to be here.”

The Donor Gift Foundation has since called on Ramaphosa to investigate the Department of Home Affairs and the Border Authority over the “humiliation they have caused” to the Palestinians.

The organization’s founder, Dr. Imtiaz Suleiman, said that this treatment included being forced to wait for hours on the airport tarmac, depriving them of food provided by the group, and “using all excuses to prevent these passengers from disembarking.”

South Africa strongly criticized the Israeli military operation in Gaza.

The country’s sympathy for the Palestinian struggle for an independent state goes back decades, particularly to the early 1990s when anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela pledged support for the Palestinian cause.

Large pro-Palestinian rallies have been held across South Africa since the start of the conflict.

Smaller pro-Israel marches and rallies were held in the country, which hosts the largest Jewish community in sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2023, the South African government filed a case against Israel before the International Court of Justice, accusing it of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has strongly rejected South Africa’s allegations, describing them as “baseless.”