NK MONITORING DESK
JOHANNESBURG: South African authorities have allowed 130 Palestinians to enter the country after first denying them access at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport due to incomplete travel documentation, the Border Management Authority (BMA) confirmed on Thursday.
According to officials, a total of 153 Palestinians arrived on a chartered Global Airways flight from Kenya but were stopped when immigration officers found that the group had not specified their length of stay or intended accommodation. Their passports also lacked departure stamps indicating where they had boarded the aircraft.
The Ministry of Home Affairs later authorised their entry after the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers stepped forward to provide temporary lodging. By the time clearance was granted, 23 individuals had already continued their journeys to other destinations, BMA Commissioner Michael Masiapato said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking in Soweto during preparations for next week’s G20 summit, acknowledged the irregularities, noting that under normal circumstances the group would have been sent back.
However, he said the government acted out of “compassion” and a longstanding commitment to supporting the Palestinian people. “Given their situation and who they are, we felt it was right to allow them in,” he told reporters.
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