153 Palestinian people were stuck at a South African airport for hours on Thursday, having initially been denied entry into the country.

They arrived at the O.R. Tambo International Airport on a charter flight from Kenya just after 08:00, but many of them were left stranded on the plane as they did not have exit stamps on their passports.

In a statement shared on social media at 23:30 on Thursday, the Border Management Authority (BMA) stated that there were further details that the passengers could not provide, which led to them failing the immigration test and subsequently being denied entry.

“During the standard interview process conducted by BMA immigration officers, the group did not indicate their duration of stay in the country or the address of their accommodation in South Africa. The travellers also did not have the customary departure stamps in their passports. 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,” read the BMA statement.

The BMA said 130 passengers of the group needed to be processed.

According to reports, the charter flight carrier, Global Airways, said it had followed due protocol and had sent all the required information to South African authorities 24 hours before departure. It suggested that it was not aware that any challenges would be experienced.

The Gift of the Givers (GoTG) believe that Israeli authorities deliberately did not stamp the passengers’ passports.

“Israel deliberately did not stamp the passports of these poor people to exacerbate their suffering in a foreign country,” said the GoTG.

The aid group, reportedly alongside other aid partners, was facilitating the humanitarian effort.

According to the BMA, after the Gift of the Givers intervened, the remaining passengers were allowed into the country late last night.

“Ministry of Home Affairs subsequently received correspondence from Gift of the Givers, expressing their commitment to accommodate the travellers during their stay. Following this verification and intervention, the travellers have been admitted this evening. By the time of admission, 23 of the 153 travellers had already transferred from South Africa to their ultimate destinations.”

The 130 passengers were allowed into the country under the care of the Gift of the Givers.

The GoTG thanked the BMA, the International Relations Department and Home Affairs Department for its intervention.

“We thank the South African government for coming to the assistance of the Palestinian people yet again. Gift of the Givers, with other civil society partners, will provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees.”

The Border Management Authority says Palestinians are eligible for 90-day visa-exempt travel in the country.

“The BMA will continue to strictly uphold the legal and regulatory frameworks of the Republic of South Africa.”

The Gift of the Givers has since called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to launch an investigation into the conduct of the Home Affairs Department and the BMA. Gift of the Givers Chairman and Founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, says the request for a probe is based on the supposed “inhumanity, lack of empathy, the total disgrace and humiliation they’ve caused the Palestinian people”.

Sooliman claims that passengers, who were stuck for 13 hours, were denied food, that GoTG had paid for, for two hours, and used “every excuse in the book to prevent these passengers from disembarking”.

“Yes, the lowest civil servants did their duty. They had to follow the law, which says if there’s no exit stand, they cannot disembark. But of course, the higher authorities, the politicians know this is a case of genocide, of people suffering, of refugees coming after two years. They know South Africa stand on Israel… How come? For 13 hours they were held at an airport and this is clearly political interference because [GoTG] was given reassurances several times that the passengers can disembark… and that was overruled several times again,” said Sooliman.

Sooliman added that President Cyril Ramaphosa also had to intervene.

“We thank the South African civil Society, the media and everyone who supported this cause. But we want an investigation because South Africa’s international reputation has been severely damaged by someone in Home Affairs who has caused embarrasment to our country and a week before the G20”.

*This article has been updated to include additional comment from the Gift of the Givers Chairperson and Founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.