Kenya is facing a diplomatic storm after a chartered plane carrying 153 Palestinians was mysteriously cleared to use the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as a stop-over before heading to South Africa.
The Palestinians who were aboard the plane had left the embattled Gaza and crossed into Israel. In Israel, they were put on the chartered plane at Ramon Airport on Wednesday by Israeli officials and members of what has been termed as a ‘shadowy organization’.
The chartered plane then took off and headed southwards. It landed at the JKIA, from where it later took off from, eventually landing at the Oliver Tambo International Airport on Thursday morning.
“These are people from Gaza who somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi and came here,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
The Kenyan government including agencies running the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport have remained mute over the incident.
The Palestinians on board the plane did not have proper travel documents and were held onboard on the tarmac for around 12 hours. Upon being interviewed by immigration officials, it was found that the Palestinians onboard could not say where or how long they were going to be staying in the country.
They also did not have any exit stamps or exit slips that are usually issued by Israeli authorities to persons leaving the Gaza area.
According to reports, the Palestinians were moved from Gaza by an organization known as Al-Majd. Apparently, they were escorted from Gaza by Israeli soldiers in buses that were facilitated by this organization.
The buses took them to the crossing point known as Karem Shalom where they switched buses and were then transported to the Ramon Airport in Israel. It is at this airport that they boarded the chartered the plane and headed south towards Kenya, and later to South Africa.
The chartered flight which was conducted with help from Israeli officials has raised concerns on whether Israel might be attempting to move Gaza residents from the troubled strip to other countries.
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