Gift of the Givers asked for an inquiry into how 153 Palestinians arrived unannounced at OR Tambo International Airport and were kept on the plane for over 10 hours. The group was denied entry at first because they did not have passport exit stamps, but were allowed in after 90-day visas were issued on Thursday.
According to border management authority commissioner Michael Masiapato, the group landed at 8.15am that day on a charter from Kenya.
They were refused entry because they did not submit the length of time they would stay, where they would stay, or their usual exit stamps. Officials said none of them showed signs of seeking asylum.
Gift of the Givers stepped in instead and offered to house the group, which the home affairs department then checked on. After the check, 130 of 153 could leave their plane, while 23 went on to other destinations.
Gift of the Givers demand accountability
The organisation said the travellers endured needless “humiliation,” and how they had to stay on the tarmac for hours and were refused food Gift of the Givers attempted to give them. Founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said that what the officials did was “every excuse in the book” not to let them disembark.
Gift of the Givers said Israel deliberately kept exit stamps to keep the group from moving. It thanked director general Zane Dangor and minister Ronald Lamola for helping them get in, but said Home Affairs could have waived the stamp rule on humanitarian grounds without it being a problem.
In a statement, the organisation called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to start an inquiry into the home affairs ministry and the border authority on their handling of the matter. It said the delays could have been avoided, and they added to the suffering of people escaping conflict.
Government response and wider context
Ramaphosa later said an investigation would happen, and the passengers “somehow mysteriously were put on a plane that passed by Nairobi” before reaching Johannesburg. He said that it was impossible to turn them back, despite the lack of documentation.
The Palestinian embassy said the group left Israel’s Ramon Airport before travelling via Nairobi without prior coordination. It claimed an unregistered group misled families, took money from them, and arranged their irregular trips.
Israel’s military body Cogat said the passengers left Gaza after it received approval from a third country to take them. It did not identify the country. None of the travellers applied for asylum, and each had a valid passport.
Civil society organisations have called on the government to clarify where the plane went and how it travelled with the group in Gaza. Gift of the Givers said that it would continue to coordinate humanitarian aid for the 130 Palestinians it admitted into South Africa during that time.
