"Last week, 153 Gazans landed in South Africa under opaque circumstances. COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry agency that controls border crossings into the Gaza Strip, claimed it had allowed them to depart from an Israeli airport because a third country without specifying which one had agreed to receive them. But when the plane touched down in Johannesburg, South African authorities and the Palestinian Embassy expressed their bewilderment."
"The crisis brought to international attention a project that Palestinians have known about for six months. It was the latest operation by Al Majd Europe, a shadowy organization that claims to operate under humanitarian aims and has evacuated hundreds of people from the devastated Strip in three operations since May. They are sent on charter flights to Malaysia, Indonesia, Kenya, or South Africa."
One hundred fifty-three Gazans recently arrived in South Africa after an opaque charter flight operation facilitated by an Israeli claim that a third country agreed to receive them. South African authorities and the Palestinian Embassy were bewildered; passengers remained on board for ten hours and eventually received 90-day visas because their passports lacked Israeli stamps. The operation was run by Al Majd Europe, which has evacuated hundreds from Gaza to Malaysia, Indonesia, Kenya, and South Africa since May. Passengers paid between $1,157 and $3,471, often did not know or were misinformed about their destination. South Africa and the Palestinian Authority accused the operation of exploiting desperation and enabling forced displacement.
Read at english.elpais.com
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