150+ PALESTINIAN REFUGEES STRANDED AT OR TAMBO AFTER ENTRY DENIAL: REPORT

Thu 13 November 2025:

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding at OR Tambo International Airport where more than 150 Palestinian refugees reportedly seeking asylum in South Africa have been denied entry and left stranded on an aircraft, News24 reported.

The refugees, who arrived from Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday morning, were denied entry due to missing exit stamps in their passports.

According to Gift of the Givers, Israel deliberately did not stamp the passports of the refugees to exacerbate their suffering in a foreign country.

But Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Ronald Lamola and the Home Affairs Department intervened and waived this requirement.

Gift of the Givers say the assistance of government is in keeping with South Africa’s policy of standing with Palestine by taking Israel to the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and garnering a boycott of that country at Bogota.

Gift of the Givers Founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman says the organisation with other civil society partners will provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees.

” I got hold of Zane Dangor, he is in Canada. I just spoke to the minister and other people in DIRCO, I spoke to the Border Management Authority other people involved in this issue and it’s about the stamp. And now this afternoon the minster is writing to the Minister of Home Affairs because it is his portfolio to wave the stamp requirement so that these people could come into the airport and come to the country and seek asylum.”

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Global Airways, which flew the group in from Nairobi, confirmed the passengers were denied entry, stating that it had followed all the requirements under South African and international immigration laws before flying the group in.

“At no point prior to landing at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport at 07:50 today was Global Airways informed that the passengers would be deemed inadmissible.”

…developing

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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