JOHANNESBURG: South African authorities faced heavy criticism Friday after they held more than 150 Palestinians, including a woman who is nine months pregnant, on a plane for around 12 hours due to complications with their travel documents.
A pastor who was allowed to meet with the passengers while they were still stuck on the plane said it was very extremely and that children were screaming and crying.
The Palestinians landed on a charter plane at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport on Thursday morning after a stopover in Nairobi, Kenya, South Africa’s Border Management Authority said in a statement.
The Palestinian passengers did not have exit stamps from Israeli authorities, did not indicate how long they would be staying in South Africa and had not given local addresses, leading immigration authorities to deny them entry, the statement said.
The 153 passengers including families and children were allowed to leave the plane on Thursday night after South Africa’s Ministry of Home Affairs intervened and a local non-governmental organization called Gift of the Givers offered to accommodate them. The Border Management Authority said 23 passengers had since traveled on to other countries, leaving 130 in South Africa.
