NGOs to provide humanitarian assistance to 130 Palestinians who arrived at OR Tambo

Gift of the Givers and other civil society organisations will provide humanitarian assistance to 130 Palestinians who arrived at the OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday.

According to the commissioner of the Border Management Authority (BMA), Dr Michael Masiapato, 153 Palestinian travellers arrived at the airport just after 8am on Thursday through a charter flight from Lift Global Airways from Kenya.

During the standard interview process conducted by BMA immigration officers, the group did not indicate their duration of stay in the country or the address of their accommodation in South Africa. The travellers also did not have the customary departure stamps in their passports.

“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,” said the BMA.

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“However, the Ministry of Home Affairs subsequently received correspondence from Gift of the Givers, expressing their commitment to accommodate the travellers during their stay.”

Following this verification and intervention, they were admitted.

According to the BMA, 23 of the 153 travellers have already transferred from South Africa to their ultimate destinations.

Therefore, only the remaining 130 passengers were processed into the country, under the care of Gift of the Givers.

“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 will continue to strictly uphold the legal and regulatory frameworks of the Republic of South Africa,” it said.

Palestinians under the care of NGOs

Gift of the Givers has since confirmed that it will, in partnership with other NGOs, provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians.

“Gift of the Givers thanks Dirco DG Zane Dangor and Minister Ronald Lamola for receiving Palestinian refugees who arrived on a flight to Johannesburg this morning [Thursday], with open arms,” said the organisation.

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“The Border Management Authority acted in accordance with its mandate by not allowing passengers without an exit stamp to disembark.

“We are grateful that the Minister of Dirco took the initiative to write to the Ministry of Home Affairs to waive this requirement, yet this could have been implemented by Home Affairs unilaterally on humanitarian grounds.

“We thank the South African government for coming to the assistance of the Palestinian people yet again. Gift of the Givers, with other civil society partners, will provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees.”

Palestinians have been left in limbo amid a war, triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. The war has reportedly killed at least 60 000 people in Gaza.