"The man, whose identity remains anonymous due to security concerns, told Al Jazeera there was strong coordination between the Al-Majd Europe group and the Israeli army on such displacements. He said the process seemed routine and included a thorough search of personal belongings before he was put on a bus that moved through southern Gaza's Israeli-controlled Karem Abu Salem crossing (which Israelis call Kerem Shalom) into southern Israel and the Ramon Airport."
"At Ramon, since there is no recognition by [Israel] of a Palestinian state, they did not stamp our passports, the Palestinian man said. A Romanian aircraft took the group to Kenya, a transit country. He said there appeared to be some coordination between Al-Majd Europe and the Kenyan authorities. None of the passengers knew which country they would end up in, he said, adding that there were at least three people coordinating from inside Gaza."
Al-Majd Europe operates a network transporting Palestinians out of Gaza through Israeli-controlled crossings to Israel's Ramon Airport and onward to third countries. At least 153 people arrived in South Africa without documentation after movements coordinated with Israeli forces and with apparent coordination involving Kenyan authorities. Passengers undergo searches, online registration and screening, and pay intermediaries thousands of dollars via bank applications to individual accounts. Flights have transited through Kenya; earlier transfers went to Indonesia. Coordinators operate from inside Gaza and from abroad. Passports were not stamped at Ramon due to lack of Palestinian state recognition, leaving many undocumented. Fees ranged roughly from $1,500 to $6,000 per person, and many travellers did not know their final destination.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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