Lamola Raises Alarm Over Unauthorised Palestinian Entry Into South Africa
- Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola spoke about the recent arrival of a group of Palestinians
- Lamola said foreign actors used South Africa’s visa-free agreement with Palestine to bring a group of Palestinians into the country
- This follows the arrival of 153 Palestinians in South Africa from Kenya in early November 2025
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Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.
Source: Twitter
Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola warned that foreign actors used South Africa’s visa-free agreement with Palestine to bring a group of Palestinians into the country without authorisation.
What did Lamola say?
Lamola explained that the group had exploited a loophole in South Africa’s visa-free arrangement with Palestine, reportedly with the involvement of actors linked to the Israeli government.
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According to IOL, the minister said that no authorisation was given for the mass arrival of the foreign nationals, even though the aircraft had the necessary landing rights. He added that this is a requirement under international norms when groups are transported. Lamola noted that any mass entry requires an agreement between the two governments, which was not in place in this case.
Government forced to step in
He defended Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber’s decision to stop the arrivals, saying the government had to act because of irregularities. He added that they supported Schreiber’s call, as immediate action was necessary on humanitarian grounds.
Lamola explained that DIRCO and Home Affairs worked together to manage the arrivals, giving some passengers the choice to leave while allowing others to remain under South African immigration rules. He added that all passengers were thoroughly screened and received food and shelter from the humanitarian group Gift of the Givers.
Source: Twitter
Abuse of the visa exemption
Minister Schreiber said national intelligence confirmed that external actors were deliberately abusing the visa exemption to move Gazans out of the war zone under the guise of short-term travel. As a result, the 90-day Palestinian visa waiver was revoked.
He said that following investigations and advice from national intelligence and consultations with the Security Cluster, Home Affairs revoked the 90-day visa exemption for Palestinian passport holders. Intelligence revealed that Israeli actors were repeatedly misusing the exemption to move Gaza residents under the guise of ‘voluntary emigration.’ Schreiber noted that short-stay visa exemptions are usually intended to encourage tourism and short trips.
Department of Home Affairs clarifies incident of 153 stranded Palestinians
In a related article, Briefly News reported that the Department of Home Affairs commented on the arrival of the 153 Palestinians in South Africa from Kenya.
The group of refugees was stranded on an aircraft after they could not verify their identity and other details of their flight. The Department described that not all of the passengers of the flight remained, as others left on other flights to other destinations.
Source: Briefly News
