South Africa allowed more than 150 Palestinian passengers to disembark from a chartered aircraft late Thursday after they were kept onboard for nearly 12 hours due to immigration concerns, according to officials.
In a statement, South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA) said the Ministry of Home Affairs granted approval for the group to leave the aircraft after a local humanitarian organization, Gift of the Givers, committed to providing accommodation during their stay if required.
The plane, carrying 153 Palestinians, landed at OR Tambo International Airport shortly after 8 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT). The passengers were not initially permitted to disembark after officials found they lacked departure stamps in their passports and had not provided information regarding the duration of their stay or where they planned to stay in the country.
“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 BMA said.
The passengers were initially denied entry after failing what authorities described as the “immigration test,” and none expressed an intention to apply for asylum, the statement added.
Reports that the group had been kept on the aircraft for hours sparked public anger in South Africa, which is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause and has filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.
Following the Home Affairs Ministry’s decision, the BMA said 130 Palestinians entered South Africa, while 23 passengers continued on to other destinations.
According to AFP, the aircraft was a charter flight operated by South African airline Global Airways and had traveled from Kenya.
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman told public broadcaster SABC that he did not know who chartered the flight. He said another plane carrying 176 Palestinians arrived in Johannesburg on Oct. 28, with some passengers subsequently traveling to other countries.
Sooliman said families from the earlier arrival informed him that more relatives were aboard Thursday’s flight. “Those people are really distraught, coming from two years of genocide,” he said.
He added that Israel appeared to be removing people from Gaza on chartered flights without stamping passports, which he said has created difficulties for Palestinians attempting to enter foreign countries.
Nigel Branken, a South African social worker who assisted the passengers, told Al Jazeera that several individuals said they were told by Israeli authorities to leave all belongings behind before boarding an unmarked plane at an Israeli air force base.
“Very clearly all the marks of Israel involved in this operation to take people and displace them,” he said.