South Africa has officially terminated its visa exemption agreement for Palestinian passport holders following a government investigation that uncovered systematic exploitation of immigration protocols by Israeli actors. The decision, announced Sunday by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), comes in response to two controversial charter flights that transported hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza to Johannesburg under suspicious circumstances.
The investigation revealed a coordinated effort by Israeli intermediaries linked to ‘voluntary emigration’ programs to relocate Gaza residents through chartered aircraft rather than commercial flights. According to the DHA statement, these operations involved deliberate circumvention of standard immigration procedures, with most passengers holding one-way tickets and prohibited from bringing luggage.
The controversy first emerged in mid-November when 153 Palestinians arrived aboard a flight from Nairobi, only to be detained on the aircraft for over 12 hours due to missing Israeli exit stamps in their travel documents. President Cyril Ramaphosa had previously characterized the incident as ‘mysterious,’ suggesting the passengers appeared to have been ‘flushed out’ of Gaza by Israeli authorities.
While Israeli officials claimed the travelers had been cleared for departure only after an unnamed third country agreed to receive them, investigations confirmed the flights were facilitated by a controversial agency working in collaboration with the Israeli military. The DHA authorized entry for the November group after receiving assurances from humanitarian organization Gift of the Givers regarding passenger support.
A second flight carrying 176 Palestinians had previously arrived on October 28, with both operations demonstrating what South African authorities describe as a pattern of systematic abuse designed to relocate Palestinians from conflict zones without proper documentation or transparent procedures.