South Africa Lets 150 Stranded Palestinian Passengers Disembark After 12-Hour Standoff

South Africa moved late Thursday to let more than 150 Palestinian passengers finally step off a chartered aircraft after they were held onboard for nearly 12 hours at OR Tambo International Airport. The passengers, many arriving from years of war and displacement, were initially barred from disembarking by border police.

Home Affairs officials said the group was cleared only after the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers stepped in and guaranteed accommodation support for any passenger who needed it. With that commitment, authorities allowed them to enter under the existing rule that grants Palestinians 90-day visa-free travel to South Africa.

According to the Border Management Authority, the trouble began when officials discovered the passengers had no departure stamps in their passports and could not provide a clear length of stay or proof of accommodation. “Following their failure to pass the immigration test and given that none of the travellers expressed an intention to apply for asylum, they were initially denied entry,” the BMA said.

But news that more than 150 Palestinians were being kept on the tarmac sparked public anger in a country that has vocally championed the Palestinian cause and accused Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

Gift of the Givers’ founder, Imtiaz Sooliman, said his team had no advance knowledge of the flight and learned about it only when families of passengers called for help. He noted that a previous charter flight carrying 176 Palestinians had arrived on October 28. Of the latest group, 130 were allowed to enter the country, while 23 caught onward flights.

Sooliman said many passengers were traumatised and exhausted. Based on accounts from recent arrivals, he alleged Israel has been “removing people from Gaza and sending them on chartered planes” without stamping passports, a move he described as deliberate and aimed at exacerbating difficulties for Palestinians abroad.

The aircraft, operated by South Africa’s Global Airways, had flown in from Kenya, AFP reported. Other humanitarian groups have now offered support to the new arrivals.