‘I am helping my people in Gaza, this is not

The company Al‑Majd, which is apparently behind the flight that landed in Johannesburg carrying 153 Palestinians without documents, belongs, according to reports, to another company founded by an Israeli citizen with Estonian nationality. According to ynet, the company contacted the Migration Directorate at the Ministry of Defense, which transferred the details of the 153 Palestinians on the aircraft to the Government Activities in the Territories Coordinator Unit (COGAT).

The passengers believed they were headed to India. The Palestinian ambassador to South Africa on the flight that landed in Johannesburg

(Photo: Reuters)

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported this week that Al‑Majd belongs to the company Talent Globus — which was founded by Israeli‑Estonian Tomer Janar Lind. According to his LinkedIn profile, he currently works primarily in the Gulf states — the UAE and Qatar. The report states that Lind established another company involved in consultancy, allegedly based in Dubai.

On Al‑Majd’s website, aside from phone numbers of company representatives, there is no registered address or official telephone number; the site only states that its offices are located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem — a claim whose accuracy is unclear. An article on the Al Jazeera news site noted that the company’s email address links to an automatic message declaring that the address is non‑existent.

Additionally, the links on the website to Facebook or Instagram are non‑functional, and a DW investigation revealed that the “Donate” button also does not work. DW also stated that its review found that, since its founding, Al‑Majd has received only $106 in donations paid via cryptocurrency.

‘I’m helping my people’

A representative of Al‑Majd, identified on the site as “Omar” alongside his phone number, told the German site via WhatsApp chat that he is a Palestinian living in Jerusalem, but refused to give further details, including his surname, for fear of his security. He claimed that speculations linking the company to the Israeli government were spread by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which do not want Palestinians to leave the Strip.

Omar said further that in facilitating people leaving Gaza via an Israeli airport, coordination with Israeli entities, including COGAT, is a matter of reality. “I am helping my people in Gaza, and this is not migration,” he said. “I am helping people who want to live, not to die in the Strip.”

DW noted that Omar refused to answer “more challenging questions,” such as his ties to Lind, how he made contact with international and Israeli firms, and why many of the links on Al‑Majd’s website do not work. “He also did not explain the company’s financing, and said he ‘does not remember’ how many Palestinians he helped exit Gaza,” DW reported.