South African authorities detained more than 150 Palestinians aboard a charter plane at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo Airport for about 12 hours over missing travel documents, including Israeli exit stamps, local addresses and stated lengths of stay. After the national Ministry of Home Affairs intervened and the charity Gift of the Givers offered accommodation, the 153 people were allowed off the aircraft; 23 later travelled onward and roughly 130 remain in South Africa. Witnesses described sweltering conditions and distressed children, and many passengers said they plan to seek asylum. The flight’s origins and how passengers left Israel without the cited exit stamps remain unclear.
Over 150 Palestinians Held on Johannesburg Plane for About 12 Hours Amid Document Dispute
South African authorities detained more than 150 Palestinians aboard a charter plane at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo Airport for about 12 hours over missing travel documents, including Israeli exit stamps, local addresses and stated lengths of stay. After the national Ministry of Home Affairs intervened and the charity Gift of the Givers offered accommodation, the 153 people were allowed off the aircraft; 23 later travelled onward and roughly 130 remain in South Africa. Witnesses described sweltering conditions and distressed children, and many passengers said they plan to seek asylum. The flight’s origins and how passengers left Israel without the cited exit stamps remain unclear.
02:14 PM, 11/14/2025Society
Passengers Held on Tarmac as Document Issues Are Resolved
South African officials faced sharp criticism after more than 150 Palestinian passengers — including a woman reported to be nine months pregnant — were kept aboard a charter aircraft on the tarmac at Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport for roughly 12 hours over travel-document problems.
The flight arrived on Thursday morning following a stopover in Nairobi, Kenya, the Border Management Authority said. Authorities told reporters the passengers lacked Israeli exit stamps, had not provided local addresses, and had not stated how long they intended to remain in South Africa, so immigration officials initially refused entry.
After intervention by the national Ministry of Home Affairs and assistance from the charity Gift of the Givers, the group of 153 passengers — many of them families with children — were allowed off the plane late Thursday. The Border Management Authority said 23 people subsequently travelled on to other countries, leaving about 130 in South Africa.
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman said this was the second such flight carrying Palestinians to South Africa in about two weeks and that passengers reported not knowing their final destinations; both flights are believed to have included people from war-ravaged Gaza. It remains unclear who organized the charter, where the plane originated prior to Nairobi, and how passengers left Israel without the documented exit stamps South African authorities cited.
“It's dire,” pastor Nigel Branken said after being allowed to visit the aircraft while it was on the tarmac. “When I came onto the plane it was excruciatingly hot. There were lots of children just sweating and screaming and crying.”
Branken told national broadcaster SABC that many of the passengers intended to apply for asylum in South Africa. The episode provoked public anger in a country that has long signalled support for the Palestinian cause, and it raised questions about charter oversight, document checks, and how best to protect vulnerable travellers caught in transit.
What happens next: Authorities and NGOs are coordinating temporary accommodation and determining the legal status of the passengers. Further inquiries were expected to clarify the charter's origins and whether any formal irregularities occurred in the passengers' departure from Israel.