It was not the first such flight out of Israel, but it was the first to attract so much attention. Last weekend, 153 Palestinians from Gaza arrived in South Africa on a charter flight from the Israeli airport of Ramon, but they arrived without the correct documentation. Given how strictly Israel controls its borders – and the borders of the Palestinian territories, which passengers had to cross to reach Israeli airports – South African authorities could not figure out how the plane managed to escape there.
Later it appeared this was because the Palestinians’ travel had been arranged by an organization called Al-Majd Europe.
On its website, the organization says it arranges “humanitarian evacuations”. but the workers have been raising concerns About flights organized by Al-Majd Europe since summer,
shady organization
Al-Majd claims to have been founded in Germany in 2010 and is now based in Jerusalem. However no such company or charity exists in German registries and Israeli researchers say the same is true there.
Al-Majd’s website uses photographs of individuals from other crisis situations and claims them as its own. The website’s IP address, and therefore its actual location, is hidden by privacy software.
The “Donate” button on the website doesn’t work and DW’s own research shows that Al-Majd only received $106 worth of the cryptocurrency through the Bitcoin account he listed — despite the fact that it says it works with donations to aid those in need.
Palestinian passengers traveling with al-Majd to South Africa told journalists that they had paid between $1,500 (€1,200) and $2,000 (€1,720) but it was wired to personal accounts.
This week, An investigation by an Israeli newspaper, Haaretz Further discrepancies were found, including that al-Majd is linked to Tomar Jamar Lind, a man with dual Israeli-Estonian citizenship living in London.
Air Charter Companies – fly yobased in Romania, and Kibris Turkish AirlinesBased in Cyprus – which took Palestinians to South Africa, both owned by Israel.
An Israeli government operation?
Because of all this, activists, South African politicians and media Raised concerns that al-Majd may be part of a plan to transfer Palestinians out of Gaza.
“The reports of al-Majd taking people, sometimes to unknown destinations, are extremely disturbing,” says Tania Harri, executive director of Geisha, an Israeli nonprofit that advocates for Palestinian freedom of movement. “It appears that this shady private entity is taking advantage of people’s frustration and quietly beginning to carry out Israel’s vision for the relocation of Palestinians.”
In February 2025, US President Donald Trump talked about his “Gaza Riviera” plan, which would require the evacuation of local people from Gaza to third countries. That same month, Al-Majd began advertising its services to Palestinians on social media. In March, the Israeli government announced that it would create a “Directorate for Voluntary Emigration” within its Defense Ministry.
Rights groups in Israel have since raised concerns, saying they still do not have much information about the directorate. Hari says that the policy of “voluntary migration” from Gaza is supported by senior Israeli politicians, and that Israeli intelligence agencies had previously sent text messages to Gaza residents “inviting them to explore departure options.”
DW asked the Israeli Defense Ministry about any ties to Al-Majd Europe but did not receive a response by the time of publication Tuesday night.
Al-Majd representative: ‘Helping people live’
DW was able to contact a man named Omar, whose number is listed on al-Majd’s website. In an interview via WhatsApp, he said he is a Palestinian living in Jerusalem, but would not give further details, including his last name, for security reasons.
He told DW that speculation about al-Majd’s ties to the Israeli government was being spread by the militant Hamas group, which rules Gaza and is classified as a terrorist organization by many countries, and the Palestinian Authority, which controls the occupied Palestinian West Bank territory. He said that both these groups do not want people to leave Gaza.
Omar also said that, in order to get people out of Gaza and to airports in Israel, al-Majd would have to be in contact with Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, which runs Israel’s official business in Gaza. COGAT is also part of the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
Omar insisted, “I am helping my people in Gaza and this is not emigration.” “I am helping people who want to live and not die inside Gaza.”
But Omar declined to answer more challenging questions, for example about connections to Lind, how he came into contact with international, Israeli-owned charter companies and why links on al-Majd’s website do not work. Nor would he elaborate on Al-Majd’s finances, and he said he “could not remember” how many Palestinians had left Gaza with Al-Majd.
It is therefore unclear whether Al-Majd is linked to the Israeli government, whether it may be a private citizens’ initiative in support of government policies, or whether it is simply a money-making enterprise.
Cooperation with Israeli authorities
What is certain, however, is that Israeli security forces will have to cooperate with charter flights leaving the country.
Israel has restricted Palestinians’ freedom of movement since 1967, when it occupied the Palestinian territories. These restrictions have evolved depending on the level of tension between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups. Before the current conflict, travel out of Gaza was permitted for work, for medical treatment or for “exceptional humanitarian cases” such as the wedding or funeral of a first-degree relative.
Today, with Israel’s blockade of Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, it has become even more difficult to leave the coastal zone – although since the announcement of the Directorate for Voluntary Migration, Israeli media reports suggest it has become easier.
There are no official numbers on how many Palestinians have left Gaza.
World Health Organization has conducted 2,589 medical evacuations this year with 5,000 companions. It is also believed that more than 100,000 Palestinians may have moved to Egypt by early 2024. But since then, as israel time Reported in May this yearThere have not been that many departures.
Emigration a sensitive topic
The issue of Palestinians leaving Gaza is still politically entangled.
“Under international law, every person has the right to live in safety and dignity in his or her own country, to leave that country for his or her own safety, and to return to that country,” explains Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. “The challenge in the Israeli-Palestinian context is that the Israeli government has a decades-long track record of preventing Palestinian refugees from exercising their right to return to their homes.”
In May, a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that about half of Palestinians in the occupied territories would be willing to apply for migration. And beneath Al-Majd Europe’s post on TikTok, you’ll see hundreds of comments from frustrated Palestinians.
Geisha director Harry argues, “Under today’s devastating circumstances in Gaza, any such ‘incentives’ cannot be considered a free choice.” “Even more so, because Israel refuses to guarantee that those leaving will be allowed to return. Overall, the unlivable conditions and the official promotion of ‘voluntary departures’ reflect a pattern of forced transfers disguised as free choice.”
Under international law the forced transfer of a population is a crime against humanity.
Shakir of Human Rights Watch confirmed that there is nothing voluntary about Palestinians leaving Gaza.
“The important context here is that the Israeli government has deliberately pursued a policy of making Gaza uninhabitable,” he concluded, “and the ceasefire has not changed that reality.”
Edited by: C. Bleiker