UPDATE: 160 Palestinian refugees finally allowed entry into SA after 13-hour ordeal on the tarmac

After spending more than 13 hours onboard a grounded aircraft at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, 160 Palestinian refugees have finally been allowed to disembark and enter South Africa on Thursday evening.

Global Airways, the Johannesburg-based charter operator that flew the group from Nairobi to Johannesburg, confirmed in an updated statement that “all of the passengers have been allowed off the plane and allowed to enter South Africa," adding that they are in the process of clearing immigration. 

Earlier in the day, the airline had said the passengers were declared inadmissible on arrival, despite the fact that their travel documents and passenger list had been submitted to South African authorities 24 hours before departure, in line with immigration protocol.

The passengers — all Palestinian nationals who left Gaza on November 12 — travelled from Israel to Kenya, arriving in Nairobi around 2am on 13 November, before connecting to Johannesburg on the Global Airways charter.

They were never assured of their final destination, and were only allowed off the plane at O.R. Tambo after hours of negotiations involving multiple government departments and humanitarian organisations.

Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers confirmed it was on-site to provide food, medical care, and accommodation to the exhausted passengers.

“These people endured 13 hours onboard in inhumane conditions after fleeing a war zone,” said Gift of the Givers. “Many of them wish to apply for asylum in South Africa, while others plan to continue to other destinations.”

Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman earlier thanked DIRCO Director-General Zane Dangor and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola for stepping in to facilitate the refugees’ entry, commending their actions as “in keeping with South Africa’s humanitarian and pro-Palestinian stance.”

Sooliman explained that the crisis arose because Israeli authorities refused to stamp the refugees’ passports on exit, leaving them effectively stateless when they arrived in South Africa.

“Israel deliberately did not stamp the passports of these poor people to exacerbate their suffering,” he said. “We thank the South African government for intervening and receiving them with compassion.”

Gift of the Givers teams — alongside civil society partners Nigel Branken, Zaheerah Bham-Ismail, and Na’eem Jinnah — are coordinating emergency relief efforts for the refugees as they begin processing their asylum applications.

IOL