After Hundreds of Gazans Arrive on Mystery Flights, South Africa Asks How
Source: NYT
Full article/gift link
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/world/africa/gaza-palestinians-south-africa-flights.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2E8.OVh2.RCJtlAP5_ZzW&smid=url-share
".... The man on the phone said he worked for a humanitarian organization that could arrange to fly Ahmed Shehada and his family out of war-ravaged Gaza if he paid $1,600 per person to a crypto account. He demanded the money upfront.
Mr. Shehada thought it was a scam and declined. But after he learned of a friend who escaped Gaza through the same group, he decided to take a chance.
That decision led Mr. Shehada, 37, his wife and their two young children on a jittery 24-hour journey in two separate bus convoys, through tense Israeli checkpoints, onto a flight with an unknown destination and eventually to South Africa, a country to which he had never been.
.... They made it to the Kerem Shalom border post, where Israeli troops told them to leave all their belongings behind. They walked through several security checks and onto new buses that took them to Ramon Airport in southern Israel to board a charter flight, he said. They were not told until mid-flight that they were going to Nairobi, Kenya..."
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/world/africa/gaza-palestinians-south-africa-flights.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2E8.OVh2.RCJtlAP5_ZzW&smid=url-share
moniss
(8,409 posts)speak easy
(12,517 posts)As a refugee Mr. Shehada would have a path to citizenship in South Africa. Refugees from the Nakba were denied any path to citizenship in the Arab world to express their rejection of Israel's right to exist and later, to put pressure on Israel to accept a two state solution. I know a medical doctor who cannot get a job in Dubai because as the granddaughter of a Palestinian refugee she is stateless and will remain officially stateless until Palestinians have their own state guaranteed by Israel and the United States.
moniss
(8,409 posts)the Palestinians from what little they have left. None of the various things are ever an exact comparison. Like the 1st and 2nd Intifada. similarities and yet differences.
cliffside
(1,531 posts)"After a local aid organization offered accommodation for the entire group, they were allowed into the country on a 90-day visa exemption that South Africa grants Palestinians."
speak easy
(12,517 posts)Mr. Shehada will be assessed in the ordinary way that South Africa assesses refugee applications. Given that South Africa has petitioned the ICC against genocide in Gaza Mr. Shehada a should have a strong case. This compares with Jordan Lebanon and Syria denying any part to citizenship for political reasons. Any Palestinians are living in refugee camps by definition.
iemanja
(57,152 posts)They are charging money to do it. Remember, South Africa was part of a plan to remove Palestinians that they floated many months ago.