A group linked to Israel is behind a charter plane taking Palestinians to South Africa
A report by the Haaretz newspaper revealed the involvement of Al-Majd Europe, an NGO with phoney headquarters, commissioned by Israel’s Voluntary Emigration Bureau and COGAT to organise departures from Gaza as part of a broader scheme to resettle Palestinians, who were unaware of their final destination. Previous flights also reached Indonesia and Malaysia via Romanian airlines.
Johannesburg (AsiaNews/Agencies) – When 153 Palestinians from Gaza disembarked in South Africa last week after travelling on a mysterious charter flight from Kenya, several media reported that an NGO linked to the Israeli government and military was involved in the operation.
On Thursday, the passengers were kept on the plane at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg for nearly 12 hours, while the South African border agency investigated how they had left Gaza without any exit stamps in their passports.
Disembarkation was only allowed thanks to the humanitarian organisation “Gift of the Givers”, which offered to take care of the Gazans. According to the South African government, 23 of the 153 Palestinians left for other countries, but it did not provide further details.
Nigel Branken, a South African social worker who got involved in the case, said Palestinians in Gaza told him they were forced by Israeli authorities to leave all their belongings behind before boarding an unmarked plane at an Israeli Air Force base.
Yesterday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that the departures from Gaza were organised by an NGO called “Al-Majd Europe”, which supposedly aims to carry out “evacuations from conflict zones”.
In reality, the Voluntary Emigration Bureau, established within the Israeli Ministry of Defence to facilitate the emigration of Palestinians from the Palestinian territory, tasked Al-Majd with coordinating the departures of Gaza residents in conjunction with COGAT,[*] a unit in the Israeli military that coordinates Israeli civilian policy in the territories.
Although Al-Majd claims to have been active since 2010, the website was only registered in February 2025. It contains links that lead to no other pages, and lists its headquarters as an office in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, which does not exist.
The photos used on the website to tell the stories of Palestinians who have left the Strip are sourced from other media, while the people whose stories are cited cannot be traced.
Several passengers, who did not know their final destination, told Al Jazeera that they had to deposit between US$ 1,400 and US$ 2,000 per person into private accounts before departing.
This is not the first time such an event has occurred, according to Israeli sources.
A plane carrying 170 Palestinians landed in South Africa on 28 October, while the first flight coordinated by the organisation took place on 27 May after 57 Palestinians from Gaza were transferred to Israel and then sent to Indonesia and Malaysia (majority Muslim countries) after a stopover in Budapest, Hungary, on a flight operated by the Romanian airline FlyLili.
This transfer directly contradicts the so-called peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, which is currently being discussed at the United Nations Security Council.
Indonesia, in particular, has repeatedly proposed sending its soldiers to stabilise the Strip.
On the Al-Majd website, Gazans wishing to leave the Strip can enter their details. Once payment is made, they are added to a WhatsApp group where departure details are shared.
In the case of the flight that arrived in Johannesburg last week, the passengers reported being transported by bus from Rafah to the Kerem Shalom crossing. From there, they travelled to Ramon Airport, boarded a charter plane operated by Romanian carrier FLYYO, with a first stop in Nairobi.
Ziv Mayberg, the airline's owner, confirmed the details to Haaretz, but clarified that FLYYO does not work directly with any NGO. He said that an Israeli travel agent, whose identity he declined to reveal, booked the flights for the Palestinians.
[*] Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
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12/02/2016 15:14
