LONDON: Medics in the UK and US say Israel has denied them entry into Gaza, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
Israel is required under international law to allow entry to the Palestinian enclave for humanitarian aid, but medics have told The Guardian that they believe they have been barred for speaking out about the situation there.
James Smith, an emergency doctor from the UK, said: “I can only assume that it was elements of my public profile, because I’m otherwise a white, middle-class, British man with no Palestinian heritage, no criminal convictions.”
He added: “Not just had I spoken to media outlets but I had spoken in a particular way.”
Smith, who was working with the group Medical Aid for Palestinians, said among Israel’s guidelines for allowing NGOs and other staff to enter Gaza are clauses on calling for or participating in boycotts of the country. “It’s the expression of my politics that must have rattled them,” he added.
