Gift of the Givers accommodates 130 Palestinian refugees who arrived in SA

Humanitarian aid organisation Gift of the Givers has accommodated 130 Palestinians who arrived in South Africa on .

The group was stuck in a plane on the runway at the OR Tambo Airport for hours.

They were waiting for permission from the Border Management Authority (BMA) to disembark after arriving on a chartered plane from Kenya.

The group of 153 Palestinians landed at the airport at around 8 in the morning.

According to the BMA, during interviews with immigration officers, the group weren’t able to confirm how long they intend to stay in the country, or identify places where they would stay.

In addition to that, they also did not have customary departure stamps on their passports.

BMA deputy commissioner Mmemme Mogotsi said that after spending more than 10 hours stuck on the plane, a resolution was found.

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

Twenty-three Palestinians from the group have since left for other destinations.

Gift of the Givers has expressed gratitude to the South African government for assisting.

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