The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) has learned, like many South Africans, of the arrival and subsequent entrance of some 153 Gazans via the O.R Tambo International Airport, on 13 November 2025.
We understand that the Department of Home Affairs and the Border Management Authority initially refused to allow the passengers to enter the country as this would have been in flagrant disregard of our immigration laws. It is only after the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Ronald Lamola, and DIRCO Director-General, Mr Zane Dangor, intervened that the passengers were allowed to enter the country, seemingly still in breach of our immigration laws. Surprisingly, some Ministers are quick to respond to Palestinian issues, but slow to respond to service delivery issues of ordinary South Africans and slow to intervene on the Cape Flats, Khayelitsha, Langa, Westbury, Wentworth, Phoenix and KwaMashu areas, where our young men are gunned down daily.
The ACDP is not unmoved by the plight of Palestinians in Gaza where thousands have died and many hundreds of thousands more, were displaced during the war. It must be remembered though, that the Israel/Hamas war was caused by the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 when more than 1 200 innocent Israeli men, women and children were killed and 254 hostages were taken back to Gaza. Israel has the full right to defend itself and its citizens from such attacks, which Hamas said they would repeat, over and over again, given the opportunity.
It is also disingenuous of Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, from Gift of the Givers, to blame Israel for the incomplete travel documentation of the Gazans. Israel replaced physical passport stamps in January 2013 with a standard electronic entry or exit slips. Blaming Israel is the normal narrative and distracts from the real question which is why these Palestinians were brought to South Africa in the first place.
Entry into South Africa is controlled by the Border Management Authority under the Immigration Act – not by Israel. Some questions must be asked, such as whether the South African government had prior knowledge of this chartered aircraft and the passengers and if so, what was the process in place to accept them on arrival? Importantly, why did the Gazans travel thousands of kilometres to South Africa, passing dozens of Arab-speaking and other African states? Why weren’t the Palestinians taken to one of the surrounding Arab countries who supported the Gaza Ceasefire Deal, at much reduced cost? Additionally, why was the normally-required documentation about accommodation, intention and duration of stay, funds available, not provided to the authorities, before arrival? The ACDP would also like answers to who sponsored this flight, and if Sooliman, who pressurised the authorities to allow the Palestinians to enter the country, have any special unknown preferential powers, over and above the legislators of South Africa?
It is also noteworthy that a Gaza Ceasefire Deal (brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar) was signed at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on 13 October 2025, and has resulted in a fragile ceasefire. Increased humanitarian aid has also been flowing into Gaza, following the release of Israeli hostages.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated that the Palestinians could not have been turned back and has promised an investigation into what he terms the “mysterious” arrival of the chartered aircraft. Any illegal immigrants are normally fed and kept overnight before being sent back to their country of origin. While the Gift of the Givers have stood proxy for the wellbeing of the Palestinian passengers, the ACDP questions whether they have been properly vetted and whether any of them present any threats to our national security.
The ACDP has on multiple occasions called on government to address the many domestic challenges South Africa has, including widespread unemployment, poverty and crime. According to reports, more than 11 000 children die annually from hunger and malnutrition-related causes in the country – that is on average 30 children per day. It is estimated that we already have as much as 20 million immigrants in the country, many here illegally, who are placing immense strain on our public health and other services.
To fund their ideological position, the ANC is already using hundreds of millions of taxpayer rands, to pay for the case against Israel in the International Court of Justice. Whilst we are not unsympathetic to the plight of Palestinians, charity, in this case, must begin at home.
