Johannesburg: South African authorities allowed more than 150 Palestinian passengers to disembark late Thursday night after being held aboard a chartered plane for nearly 12 hours by the country’s border police.
The aircraft, operated by South Africa’s Global Airways, had landed at OR Tambo International Airport shortly after 8 a.m. (06:00 GMT) following a transit stop in Nairobi. However, border officials initially refused to let the 153 passengers off the plane because their passports lacked Israeli departure stamps.
The passengers were eventually allowed to leave after the Department of Home Affairs received a written guarantee from the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers, which committed to providing accommodation and support if required.
“Given that Palestinians are eligible for 90-day visa-exempt travel to South Africa, they have been processed as per normal and will be required to adhere to all conditions of entry,” the Border Management Authority (BMA) said in a statement.
The BMA added that the passengers initially failed standard immigration checks, as they had no departure stamps, had not declared the duration of their stay, and did not provide accommodation details. None had applied for asylum, leading to the initial denial of entry.
The incident sparked public outrage in South Africa, a country that has been vocal in support of Palestinians and has spearheaded an International Criminal Court genocide case against Israel.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking on Friday, said the government would investigate how the group arrived in South Africa. “These are people from Gaza who somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi and came here. We need to look at their origins, where it started, and why they were brought here… because they didn’t have any documentation,” he said.
Ramaphosa added that South Africa admitted the passengers “out of compassion,” but noted it appeared they were “being flushed out” of Gaza.
According to the BMA, 130 Palestinians entered South Africa, while 23 continued to other destinations.
In a statement on Thursday, the Palestinian Embassy in Pretoria said the travel arrangements were organised by an “unregistered and misleading group that exploited the tragic humanitarian situation in Gaza, deceived families, collected money from them, and facilitated their travel in an irregular and irresponsible manner.” The embassy urged people in Gaza to exercise caution when dealing with unofficial organisations or intermediaries.