South Africa Revokes Visa Exemption for Palestinians After Being Inundated With Travelers

Gazans who want to visit South Africa will find it more difficult now that the government is suspending its 90-day visa exemption for Palestinian travel, claiming the system was being abused by “Israeli-linked actors” seeking to relocate residents out of Gaza.The suspension is aimed at preventing “any further attempts at abuse” of the open travel system after authorities investigated what they say were two chartered planes full of Palestinians arriving at Johannesburg without luggage or return tickets. “Following investigations and recommendations by national intelligence structures and consultations conducted within the Security Cluster — which confirmed the deliberate and ongoing abuse of the 90-day visa exemption for Palestinian ordinary passport holders by Israeli actors linked to ‘voluntary emigration’ efforts for residents of the Gaza Strip — the Department of Home Affairs has withdrawn the exemption,” the department said in a statement Saturday.South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said that 160 Palestinians arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on November 13 from Kenya without documentation. He said that it seemed to him like the people aboard the flight were being “flushed out” of Gaza, and since they could not return and were not seeking asylum, they were handed over to a non-governmental organization, Gift of the Givers, to assist with relocation. Officials said the passengers had only one-way tickets and backpacks and carried U.S. dollars. A South African newspaper, The Citizen, reported the group did not know where it landed, but that individuals on the flight said they had each paid between $1,000 and $1,500 to an outfit called Al-Majd Europe to get on a plane out of Gaza. Another plane had arrived a month earlier and a Dubai-based broker with offices in South Africa had inquired in August for bulk quotes for more charter flights as soon as possible. Several of the passengers have since left for other nations like Australia and Egypt, the report said, adding that allegations had been made that the timing of the arrival had coincided to embarrass South African leaders hosting the G20 meeting on November 22-23.The head of Gift of the Givers, which was placed in charge of Palestinian arrivals, Imtiaz Sooliman, blamed the Israeli government for the uncoordinated influx, and urged the South African government to ban additional flights from Gaza.Al-Majd Europe, which was identified as the organization arranging the flights, says that it had been maligned about its efforts to relocate Gazans. In a response on social media, the group, whose mission is to assist with movement of Palestinians around the world, said that it never abandons the people it relocates, but instead provides all required documents for entry, including entry permits, minimum 30-day visas, and housing arrangements.The group shared videos of Gazans saying they voluntarily contacted the group to get them out of the war-torn territory, and were not required to sign any documentation that would prevent them from returning. Al-Majd Europe added that it works with the Israeli government only insomuch as it is required for transporting Palestinians out of the territory. While the secretary-general of the African National Congress, Fikile Mbalula, said his party, which is led by Mr. Ramophosa, wants asylum for any Palestinian arriving in South Africa, the country’s minister of home affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, said the 90-day visa exemption was intended only for short-term travel and tourism.“Withdrawing the visa exemption is the most effective way to prevent further flights of this nature, while ensuring that bona fide travellers from Palestine are safely able to visit South Africa without being subjected to abuse. South Africa will not be complicit in any scheme to exploit or displace Palestinians from Gaza,” Mr. Schreiber said.

South Africa Revokes Visa Exemption for Palestinians After Being Inundated With Travelers

South Africa Revokes Visa Exemption for Palestinians After Being Inundated With Travelers

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