Indonesia readies Gaza stabilisation force, hosts Jordan’s king for talks

Indonesia is readying up to 20,000 soldiers in preparation for a planned international stabilisation force (ISF) in Gaza, its defence minister has said, the makeup and powers of which have been a thorny subject of contention.

Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told reporters on Friday that the soldiers were likely to focus on healthcare and construction-related tasks if sent to the Palestinian enclave ravaged by more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war.

“We are waiting for further decisions on Gaza peace action,” said Sjamsoeddin.

Under United States President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, the ISF would be sent there to ensure a long-term truce.

Sjamsoeddin said Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would discuss the Trump initiative with Jordan’s King Abdullah during the monarch’s state visit to the world’s most populous Muslim nation. He did not detail how many soldiers would be sent or when they would be deployed, but noted that the decision rested with Prabowo.

Much uncertainty still surrounds Trump’s ISF idea, including its makeup and its remit. Washington has said it has spoken to Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar about contributing to the force.

Israel has already said it will not accept Turkiye, a key Gaza ceasefire mediator, having any role on the ground. Turkiye has maintained staunch criticism of Israeli actions in Gaza over the past two years and recently issued arrest warrants for genocide against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.

US pushes Security Council to back Gaza plan as Russia offers counter text


_{Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza City, November 11}

The United States has called on the United Nations Security Council to officially back its draft resolution aimed at bolstering President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, warning that Palestinians could suffer “grave consequences” if it does not.

The call came as Russia presented the council with its own “counter-proposal” on Gaza, challenging Washington’s draft, according to a copy seen by the Reuters news agency.

A spokesperson for the US mission to the UN said in a Thursday statement that “attempts to sow discord” around Washington’s resolution would only result in “grave, tangible, and entirely avoidable consequences” for Palestinians in Gaza should the ceasefire break down and Israel resume its assault.

The US mission formally circulated its draft resolution to the 15 UNSC members last week for negotiations on the wording and substance of the text.

According to a draft of the text seen by the AFP news agency, it would authorise a two-year mandate running until the end of 2027 for a transitional governance body in Gaza – known as the “Board of Peace” – that Trump would chair.

It would also authorise member states to form a “temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF)” that would work on the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups” in Gaza, protect civilians and secure humanitarian aid corridors. The ISF would also work with Israel, Egypt, and newly trained Palestinian police to help secure border areas and demilitarise the enclave.

Trump has ruled out sending US troops into Gaza as part of the proposed 20,000-strong force.

Unlike previous drafts, the latest iteration also references a possible future Palestinian state, saying “conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” once the Palestinian Authority (PA) has carried out the requested reforms.

“The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,” the resolution adds.

Many questions remain

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday he was optimistic the resolution would be adopted, saying “good progress” was being made on negotiations around its language.

But despite broad support for a “Board of Peace” among UNSC members, serious questions remain regarding the lack of any mention in the text of any oversight mechanism for the body, the PA’s future role, or concrete details about the ISF’s mandate, AFP reports.

With these significant question marks still hanging over the US proposal, Russia presented its own counter-resolution to the UNSC on Thursday.

“The objective of our draft is to enable the Security Council to develop a balanced, acceptable, and unified approach toward achieving a sustainable cessation of hostilities,” the note said.

Pointing to this “fragile” ceasefire in its Thursday note to the UNSC, the US mission urged the body to “unite and move forward to secure the peace that is desperately needed” by backing Washington’s resolution.

“[It’s a] historic moment to pave a path towards enduring peace in the Middle East,” it said.

Classy, not enforcing the ceasefire, then citing the many Israeli violations as a reason to quickly back a resolution that won't be enforcing a ceasefire either.

The 'promise' of establishing a dialogue between Israel and Palestinians is about as vague as you can get for a pathway to Palestinian statehood. Note the West Bank is still completely ignored while the US led 'peace' board will take control of Gaza.

As for the ISF, Egypt and UAE are definitely not neutral parties, neither is Azerbaijan:
https://www.jns.org/why-azerbaijan-is-important-for-israels-security/

It's all about Israel's 'security', nothing in the draft to protect Palestinians from further ethnic cleansing and genocide. No accountability either.

Aid still woefully short of Gaza needs as heavy rains, winter approach

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has accused Israel of deliberately crippling its operations and blocking the entry of vital aid to Gaza amid its more than two-year genocidal war, as Palestinians face the onset of heavy rains and winter with sparse shelter or relief.

“Safeguarding UNRWA’s mandate and operations is required under international law; it is vital to the survival of millions of Palestinians; and it is essential for a political solution,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told the UN General Assembly Fourth Committee on Thursday, citing recent findings by the UN Commission of Inquiry and rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) obligating Israel to lift restrictions on the agency.

Lazzarini also told a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York that severe funding shortfalls were threatening UNRWA’s essential services, urging donor nations for more money, so that it could continue its operations in Gaza despite funding cuts by the United States.

“We run week by week, month by month. I know that as of today, we will be able to process our salaries in November, but have no idea if or no visibility if we will be able to process our salaries in December,” said Lazzarini.

“We have, over the last two years, provided more than 15 million primary health consultations. Today, the average is about 14,000 a day,” he added, also noting the agency’s joint vaccination campaign with UNICEF and the World Health Organization. UNRWA also provides education for tens of thousands of children.

“In the absence of a significant influx of new funding, the delivery of critical services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region will be compromised,” Lazzarini added.

While US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said UNRWA will have no role in post-war Gaza, in sync with Israeli demands, Lazzarini noted that since the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold, “we have expanded our services”.

‘Terrifying nightmare for a lot of families’

Under the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, and which Israel has violated hundreds of times, aid deliveries were supposed to be significantly ramped up, with at least 600 trucks a day due to enter Gaza to fulfil the population’s needs.

However, only “around 150 trucks” have been entering Gaza daily, carrying supplies that are not sufficient for the “two million Palestinians that are currently displaced and homeless”, said Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza.

“There are a lot of Palestinian families who have said that there are no tarps, no tents, and they didn’t receive any humanitarian aid”, despite the arrival of the aid trucks, said Khoudary. The lack of supplies, coupled with the onset of winter, is a “terrifying nightmare for a lot of families and especially for those who are living in makeshift camps”, said Khoudary.

The lack of supplies has prompted the UN to warn that the hunger crisis in Gaza remains catastrophic, particularly in the north, where famine was declared in August, due to the slow and difficult route aid convoys face from the south.

Amputees from Israel’s Gaza war use homemade prosthetics to re-enter life

Some Palestinians who have lost a limb in Israel’s war on Gaza are creating homemade prosthetics to help themselves adjust to their new lives, due to the Israeli destruction of the territory’s medical facilities, their supplies, and the blocking of desperately needed equipment.

Since the conflict began in October 2023, 42,000 Palestinians have suffered life-altering injuries, with roughly 6,000 having an amputation or experiencing severe limb or spinal injuries.

Children account for a quarter of all amputations in Gaza over the past two years, making the besieged enclave the place in the world with the highest number of child amputees per capita, according to the International Rescue Committee.

New Poll DEVASTATES Israel’s U.S. Support

CNN's Harry Enten reveals Americans are increasingly more sympathetic toward Palestinians.

Crimes Against Humanity Sde Teiman: Sexual Violence, Torture, and Execution

Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Diana Buttu detail the gang-rape of a blindfolded, handcuffed prisoner at Sde Teiman, uncovered only after an Israeli doctor reported a burst rectum and intestines. The prosecutor leaked the video to show it went a bit beyond what they normally do, Buttu explained.

Buttu describes a systematic regime of torture inside Israeli prisons, noting how all of the 1,700 Palestinian hostages released recently “have spoken about torture over and over again. There isn’t one person who hasn’t spoken about it,” she said.

She recounts how hundreds of bodies returned from Sde Teiman show signs of torture and execution — “hands tied behind their backs, blindfolded, ropes around necks, and tank tracks over their legs.”

UN experts are now reviewing Israel’s record under the Convention Against Torture.

“No One Is Prepared for What’s About to Erupt in the Middle East… | Max Blumenthal”

In this explosive conversation, Max Blumenthal breaks down a series of major geopolitical shifts unfolding across Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and Venezuela. He reveals how former extremist figures have gained unprecedented access to U.S. political circles, how Syria has effectively collapsed into a battleground for foreign intelligence agencies, and why Washington’s long-standing proxy relationships are now producing consequences no one wants to confront.

Blumenthal explains Israel’s ongoing operations against Hezbollah, the growing risk of a regional escalation with Iran, and the political pressures driving U.S. decisions behind the scenes. He also exposes the deeper motivations behind Washington’s push for regime change in Venezuela — from economic interests to ideological agendas.

This discussion connects decades of U.S. foreign policy to today’s rapidly escalating crises, offering a rare, unfiltered look at what may be coming next in the Middle East and beyond.

Displaced Palestinian families suffer as heavy rains flood Gaza tent camps


_{A Palestinian man clears stagnant water from the road near a displacement camp after the first winter rainfall in Gaza City on November 14}

Displaced Palestinians are reeling after heavy rains flooded their tents in makeshift displacement camps in Gaza City, as the United Nations warns that Israeli restrictions on aid have left hundreds of thousands of families without adequate shelter.

Abdulrahman Asaliyah, a displaced Palestinian man, told Al Jazeera on Friday that residents’ mattresses, clothes and other belongings were soaked in the flooding. “We are calling for help, for new tents that can at least protect people from the winter cold,” he said, explaining that nearly two dozen people had been working for hours to get the water to drain from the area.

“This winter rain is a blessing from God, but there are families who no longer wish for it to fall, fearing for the lives of their children and their own survival,” Asaliyah said.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Friday’s flooding primarily affected Palestinians in the north of the Strip, where hundreds of thousands of people have returned following last month’s ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Flooding was also reported in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, said the rescue agency, which urged the international community to do more to “address the suffering” of Palestinians whose homes were destroyed in Israel’s two-year war on the enclave. “We urge the swift delivery of homes, caravans, and tents to these displaced families to help alleviate their suffering, especially as we are at the beginning of winter,” it said in a statement.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah on Friday, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said Palestinians across Gaza have been voicing fears that this winter would be particularly difficult due to the lack of safe shelter. “It only rained for a couple of minutes – 30 minutes or so … [and] they were completely flooded,” she said. “Their tents are very fragile and worn-out; they have been using them for the past two years.”

She added that most Palestinians do not have any other options but to remain in tent camps or overcrowded shelters, despite the difficulties. “We’re already seeing Palestinian children walking barefoot. They do not have winter clothes. They do not have blankets. And at the same time, the aid that is coming in … is being restricted,” Khoudary said.

Back in Gaza City, another displaced Palestinian man affected by the heavy rains, Abu Ghassan, said he and his family “no longer have a normal life”. “I’m lifting the mattresses so the children don’t get soaked,” he told Al Jazeera. “But the little ones were already drenched here. We don’t even have proper tents.”



https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/14/middleeast/gaza-rain-floods-camps-intl

Rashida Tlaib introduces US Congress resolution to recognise Gaza genocide


_{A Palestinian child walks through the rain in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City, November 14}

Democratic lawmaker Rashida Tlaib has introduced a resolution in the United States Congress to recognise Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza as a genocide.

While the proposal released on Friday has little chance of passing in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, it underscores the growing criticism of Israel in US politics.

If the resolution did pass, it would officially recognise that “Israel has committed the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza” and call for an end to the transfer of weapons suspected of being used to commit atrocities to the US ally.

The bill also backs “facilitating investigations and domestic proceedings and taking action, including imposing targeted, lawful sanctions, with respect to the State of Israel”.

The resolution has been co-sponsored by 20 other Democratic members of Congress, including some prominent legislators.

Key progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, potential presidential candidate Ro Khanna, and Gen Z Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who is seen as a rising star in the party, are backing the measure.

The resolution comes as the 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that granted Israel $3.8bn in US military aid annually is set to expire next year – likely renewing the debate over the assistance as Israeli officials seek a new package.

Over the past two years, the US government provided additional assistance to Israel to help fund the war on Gaza – totalling more than $21bn.

Despite the growing consensus among rights experts that the war in Gaza is a genocide, only a fraction of Congress members have adopted the label when describing the Israeli offensive.

In addition to the 21 House Democrats backing the resolution, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and progressive Senator Bernie Sanders have also accused Israel of genocide.

Experts say the description is important because the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide invokes a global responsibility to stop the atrocities and hold the perpetrators responsible.

More than 100 rights groups have endorsed Tlaib’s congressional proposal.

Normalising hate: Israel leans in to anti-Palestinian violence, rhetoric

The US-imposed ceasefire of October 10 has not stopped Israel’s regular attacks on the Gaza Strip. Nor has it threatened to hold a parliament and society that largely cheered on the war, which has been deemed genocidal by multiple international bodies, accountable for their actions.

Instead, fuelled by what analysts from within Israel have described as an absolute sense of impunity, anti-Palestinian violence has intensified across the country and the occupied West Bank while much of the world continues to look away, convinced that the work of the ceasefire is done.

In the parliament, or Knesset, a senior lawmaker and member of the governing party openly defended convicted ultranationalist Meir Kahane, long considered beyond the pale even by members of Israel’s right wing and whose Kach movement has been banned as a “terrorist organisation”. At the same time, the parliament is debating reintroducing the death penalty, as well as expanding the terms of the offences for which it might apply – both unambiguously targeting Palestinians.

Under the legislation, proposed by ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – who himself has past “terrorism”-related convictions for his outspoken support of Kahane –  anyone found guilty of killing Israelis because of “racist” motives and “with the aim of harming the State of Israel and the revival of the Jewish people in its land” would face execution.

That bill passed its first reading this week.

“The absence of any attempt to assert accountability from the outside, from Israel’s allies, echoes into Israel’s own Knesset,” analyst and former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy said. “There’s no sense that Israel has done anything wrong or that anyone should be held to account.”

“Israel has built up this energy through two years of genocide,” Orly Noy, editor of the Hebrew-language Local Call, told Al Jazeera. “That hasn’t gone anywhere.

“Just because there’s a ceasefire and the hostages are back, the racism, the supremacy and the unmasked violence didn’t just disappear. We’re seeing daily pogroms by soldiers and settlers in the West Bank. There are daily attacks on Palestinian bus drivers. It’s become dangerous to speak Arabic, not just within the ‘48, but anywhere,” she said, referring to Israel’s initial borders of 1948.

“Once you’ve manufactured consent for genocide, you need to be proactive in dialling the cruelty levels down, which is something we’re not seeing,” Levy said. “If anything, we’re just seeing it continue. They have dialled the cruelty levels up to 11 … and they’re leaving them there.”

Very shady

‘Trip of suffering’: Gaza evacuee details 24-hour journey to South Africa

Questions have been raised over how hundreds of Palestinians were able to leave Gaza, board a plane in Israel, and arrive in South Africa without departure stamps in their passports or indication of their intended destination.


A resident of the Gaza Strip, who is one of 153 Palestinians that landed in South Africa without the correct paperwork this week, says the group did not know where they would end up when they left Israel.

Loay Abu Saif, who fled Gaza with his wife and children, told Al Jazeera on Friday that the journey out of the battered and besieged enclave was a “trip of suffering”.

“We were not too convinced that any group … would be able to make this kind of evacuation,” Abu Saif said from Johannesburg, a day after the chartered plane his group was on landed at the city’s OR Tambo International Airport. “I can say I feel safe … which means a lot for Palestinians, especially for those in Gaza,” he added.


Details are slowly emerging of a controversial transit scheme run by a non-profit, through which activists say Israel is encouraging the displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza by helping them settle in other countries.

Based on Abu Saif’s testimony to Al Jazeera, the Israeli military appears to have facilitated his group’s transfer through an Israeli airport.

The flight carrying Abu Saif left Israel’s Ramon Airport and transited through Nairobi, Kenya, before landing in Johannesburg on Thursday morning, where authorities did not initially allow the passengers to disembark as the Palestinians did not have departure stamps from Israel on their documents.

All in all, the journey lasted more than 24 hours and involved a change of planes.

Abu Saif said his family left Gaza without knowing their final destination. They only learned they were bound for Johannesburg when boarding their connecting flight in Nairobi.


Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan, on Friday, said Israel was yet to comment on the issue, but it was unlikely the Palestinians who left did so without “Israeli coordination”.

“Nobody can approach that imaginary yellow line [in Gaza] without being shot at. These people had to be bused through the yellow line, through the 53 percent of Gaza that the Israeli army still controls and is operating in out of Gaza, through Israel to the Ramon airport,” she reported.

Uncertainty loomed

According to Abu Saif, his wife registered the family with a nonprofit called Al-Majd Europe, with headquarters in Germany with an office in Jerusalem, according to their website.

The group advertised the registration form on social media, he revealed. On how he was selected, Abu Saif said the process appeared to focus on families with children and required a valid Palestinian travel document, along with security clearance from Israel.“This is all what I know about the criteria,” he said.

When asked whether he knew in advance when they would leave Gaza, he said no timelines were given.

“They told us … we will inform you one day before – that’s what happened,” he said, adding that the organisation told them not to carry any personal bags or luggage except relevant documents.

In terms of cost, people were charged about $1,400-$2,000 per person for the trip, Abu Saif said. Parents also paid the same fee per child or baby they carried with them.

After they were selected to leave, Abu Saif and his family were taken by bus from the southern Gaza city of Rafah to the Karem Abu Salem crossing (called Kerem Shalom in Israel), along the border with Israel, where they underwent checks before being transferred onward towards Israel’s Ramon Airport.

He said their travel documents were not stamped by Israeli authorities, but he thought it was just a routine procedure since there were no Palestinian border officials in Gaza.

“We realised the problem … when we reached South Africa and they were asking us … ‘Where are you coming from?'” Abu Saif said.


Future plans

The group that organised the trip, Al-Majd Europe, said they would be able to help his family for a week or two, after which they would be on their own, Abu Saif said. Al-Majd did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment.

However, Abu Saif added that the evacuees had made their own plans going forward. “They have their papers for Australia, Indonesia, or Malaysia. We can say that 30 percent of the total number of passengers left South Africa on the same day or within the first two days,” he said, while others may choose to stay for several reasons, including receiving treatment.

South African authorities reported that of the 153 Palestinians who landed on Thursday, 130 entered the country, while 23 transferred to other destinations.

“People have calculated that the cost of life in any country … will be cheaper compared to the cost of living in Gaza,” said Abu Saif.

MSM IGNORES Israel in Epstein, Groypers Occupy Trump Admin?, Mass AI Hack REVEALED

On today's show the team breaks down mainstream media's focus on Epstein's sex trafficking while avoiding mention of his alleged occupation as an asset for Israel, Emily looks at how many "Groypers" occupy the Trump administration, a massive first of its kind AI led cyber attack, and we interview Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota and Senate canddiate Peggy Flanagan who talk to about the shutdown deal and if Schumer should resign.

Italy and Germany 'on wrong side of history'' | Francesca Albanese | Expert Witness

UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, calls out the EU, in particular Germany and Italy, for their stance on Gaza. ‘It’s a very sad coincidence that one century later, these two countries are still on the wrong side of history,’- Albanese on Italy and Germany's opposition to suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Checking out Al-Majd:

https://www.almajdeurope.org/

This is apparently a warning screen in Arabic when you load the page. The website is in English, asking for donations for humanitarian aid and evacuation

Coordinating evacuations from conflict zones and providing safe passage to those in immediate danger. 1,500+ individuals evacuated, 25+ safe routes established, Coordination with 15+ international agencies.

Registration is all in Arabic again with more warnings not to deal with anyone not part of the organization, then asking to upload a photo of passport or ID. 

The warning translates to

! Important warning announcement !

Beware of scams and name impersonation!

We have recently received reports about people impersonating representatives of the organization and contacting people through fake numbers, requesting money or transfers via digital currencies (USDT) under the pretext of facilitating travel or humanitarian aid.

We confirm that these are fraudsters who have absolutely no connection to the organization.

The images below are real examples of fake conversations and accounts impersonating the organization. Please be aware and only interact with the following official numbers:


It all seems very shady, like it says we don't know where you'll end up, service for Gaza residents in Gaza only.

The plot thickens

Israeli-Linked Operation behind Gaza Evacuations, Source Reveals

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israeli-linked-operation-behind-gaza-evacuations-source-reveals/

A covert, Israeli-linked network is allegedly facilitating costly and irregular evacuations of Palestinians from Gaza to South Africa, raising fears of a deliberate “soft displacement” scheme.

New, detailed information obtained by the Palestine Chronicle from sources familiar with the matter in South Africa sheds light on the highly irregular process used to move hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza, fueling suspicions that the scheme is an Israeli-linked operation focused on “soft displacement.”

The details follow the recent controversy where 160 Palestinians arriving in Johannesburg were initially delayed by the Border Management Authority (BMA) before being granted entry by instruction from President Cyril Ramaphosa on humanitarian grounds.

Covert Transportation

Na’eem Jeenah, a South African scholar closely familiar with the matter, told the Palestine Chronicle that the operation is facilitated by an organization named Al-Majd. Jeenah stated the organization is reportedly linked to or owned by Israeli interests and may have ties to the Israeli security service (Shabak), adding that the entire process unfolds under conditions of extreme secrecy and coercion.

Jeenah explained the organization’s method of operation:

Gaza residents apply via an Al-Majd website for passage out of the territory and are charged a fee ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 per person.

Applicants receive calls, often at night, instructing them that they will be moved the next morning and that they should bring only a small rucksack.

At the Kerem Shalom Crossing (Karem Abu Salem), Israeli personnel reportedly stop the evacuees and confiscate their rucksacks, allowing them to proceed only with a cellphone, passport, and money.

They are transported via Israeli buses to Ramon Airbase, then placed on a chartered, unmarked flight. At no point are they informed of their final destination, with the journey involving a connection in Nairobi before landing in Johannesburg, or sometimes other cities like Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta. 

Passengers on the recent flight held conflicting hotel booking vouchers for places like Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur, but all ultimately landed in South Africa.

Upon arrival, passengers notably lack an exit stamp or a B/2 form in their passports — a factor activists suggest Israel uses to create a pretext for visa refusal — and possess no return ticket or confirmed accommodation details. 

The first group of 176 Palestinians that arrived on October 28 received their hotel assignments only via WhatsApp after passing through immigration, with their lodgings scattered across Johannesburg.

The burning question is who charted a flight carrying 153 Palestinian refugees to South Africa? Gift of the Givers, helped avert a humanitarian crisis at OR Tambo International Airport. The organisation and other civil society partners, are coordinating emergency relief efforts… pic.twitter.com/MwfVLtAnRH

— eNCA (@eNCA) November 14, 2025

BMA Standoff and Presidential Resolution

For the initial flight on October 28, passengers were processed and granted the standard 90-day visa exemption to which Palestinians are entitled, despite the clear irregularities.

However, the BMA refused entry to the 160 Palestinians on the November 14 flight, a position that was maintained even after the passengers requested asylum. 

The crisis deepened when the airline threatened to return the group to Nairobi. The situation was resolved only after President Cyril Ramaphosa intervened, instructing that the refugees be allowed to enter the country on a 90-day visa, providing them with time to decide on onward travel or a formal asylum application.


Makes you wonder what all else is going on.

South Africa probes unexpected arrival of Palestinians from Gaza without proper documentation

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry is warning people in Gaza against human trafficking networks and what it calls displacement agents.

That’s after details emerged of a controversial agency transferring people from the Strip to other countries – through unofficial channels, facilitated by the Israeli military.

South Africa says it’s investigating how 150 Palestinians arrived in Johannesburg on Thursday without proper documentation or coordination.

Departure of people from Gaza to South Africa closely coordinated with Israeli authorities

Everything started with an advertised post from the Al-Majd Europe organisation promising to safely evacuate Palestinian families outside the Gaza Strip, so many Palestinians filled in their applications and are waiting for a call from the organisation.

The situation in Gaza has pushed Palestinians to pay whatever they could to leave the Strip. They lost everything. They lost their houses, and they believe that they do not have any future here.

But how did those Palestinians leave? They were on a bus in Gaza’s middle area when they received a phone call hours before their departure. They crossed the so-called yellow line with the cooperation of the Israeli authorities. This bus then went all the way to Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom, to Israelis) crossing and then to Ramon airport in southern Israel.

At least 200 Palestinians have been killed since the October ceasefire just for crossing the yellow line, so this venture is coordinating closely with the Israeli authorities in order to evacuate the Palestinians.

We need to remember that there are thousands of Palestinians, including children, who need urgent medical evacuation right away. And the Israeli forces have been denying them that.

Palestinian ministry warns against groups exploiting Gaza’s humanitarian crisis

The Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry has warned that “companies and entities that mislead our people, incite them to deportation or displacement or engage in human trafficking and exploit their tragic and catastrophic humanitarian conditions will bear the legal consequences of their unlawful actions and will be subject to prosecution and accountability.”

In a statement, the ministry also urged Palestinian families in Gaza “to exercise caution and avoid falling prey to human trafficking networks, blood merchants, and displacement agents”.