South Africa lets Gazan refugees in after hours-long standoff

COGAT says South Africa agreed in advance to take the group; officials in Pretoria deny prior notification.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

South Africa allowed more than 100 Gazan refugees into the country Friday after refusing for half a day to let them deplane after they arrived in Johannesburg.

The authorities explained the delay as being caused by the fact that they had arrived unexpectedly, with no prior official permission sought or given.

“Yesterday, we had a plane of 160 Palestinians landing at O.R. Tambo,” President Cyril Ramaphosa told the local press.

“These are people from Gaza who somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi and came here. And I said we cannot turn them back, even though they do not have the necessary documents and papers,” the president said, because they are coming from “a strife-torn country.”

“Out of compassion, out of empathy, we must receive them.”

However, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) initially told AFP Thursday night that the people left Gaza after its office “received agreement from a third country to take them.”

France 24 subsequently reported Saturday night COGAT’s confirmation that the country was South Africa.

This would mean, correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky said, that “South Africa invited these Gazans to come, authorized their arrival … [then] backtracked, and pretended not to know anything at all.”

For its part, the Palestinian Embassy in South Africa backed up Ramaphosa in its statement on the incident, saying that the Palestinians had boarded a flight via Ramon Airport that was organized by an “unregistered and misleading” entity that “exploited” the plight of Gazans, and “when complications arose, it abandoned them.”

One hundred thirty of the passengers reportedly received temporary entry visas for 90 days, while 23 were sent to other countries.

Local officials said the visas were authorized in order to resolve the crisis and relieve pressure created by their being denied entry.

Videos had been posted Thursday on social media of the people trapped on the plane.

One woman begged to know why she wasn’t being allowed into the country after “a very arduous journey … two continuous days of hardship,” when she had “nowhere to go.”

“It’s enough. It’s enough,” she cried. “Why us? Where are human rights?”

This was seemingly an especially bad image for the government, considering that South Africa has led the legal charge against Israel in the International Criminal Court, claiming that the IDF was committing genocide in Gaza.

Comments on social media reflected people’s derision, with several saying that if the South Africans weren’t willing to absorb the Gazans, perhaps there really was no genocide occurring in the coastal enclave.

Al-Jazeera interviewed one of the passengers, Louay Abut-Saif, who said that his wife had registered his family for the trip after seeing a post on social media that reportedly offered travel documents and Israeli security clearance, with priority given to families with children.

He said that each family was asked to pay between $1,400 and $2,000 per person, that they were not told who was behind the flight, and were only informed of the departure date one day in advance.

They landed first in Kenya before going on to Johannesburg.

“We were told not to pack anything, not to bring bags or suitcases, just the relevant documents,” he said.