Palestinian-American doctor Jiab Suleiman arrived in Jordan last month ahead of an emergency medical mission into Gaza, which he was due to oversee. The Ohio-born orthopedic surgeon had already led two trips into the besieged strip since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October and was finalizing details for his third. <\/p>\n
But his preparation would ultimately be for nothing. The day before the team was set to cross into Gaza, Suleiman received notice that he had been denied entry by Israel\u2019s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, the Israeli agency that manages policy for the Palestinian territories and the flow of aid into the strip. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to actually tell people of Palestinian origin or Palestinian dual nationals that it is not possible for them to go in,\u201d said Sameer Sah, director of programs at Medical Aid for Palestinians, an aid organization based in the United Kingdom. \u201cWe have to distinguish between Palestinians and non-Palestinians which is not ethically right, which is not right in terms of humanitarian laws, and it is not humane.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThey said \u2018you\u2019re denied because of your Palestinian ID,\u2019\u201d said Suleiman, the medical mission lead at Rahma, a US-based humanitarian organization, referring to COGAT. \u201cIt\u2019s very upsetting, annoying and disturbing to deny someone entry to a war zone to do a mission just because of the fact that they\u2019re by genetics Palestinian.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI stopped recruiting or encouraging any Palestinian physician worldwide to come help, I just can\u2019t recruit them because I lose a slot,\u201d Suleiman added. \u201cEven if it\u2019s just one doctor or one nurse, I lose a slot knowing that they\u2019re going to be denied and I need every single body, every physician to go into Gaza.\u201d <\/p>\n
The change in policy came after Israel launched a deadly ground offensive into Rafah in May, during which it seized control of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza and destroyed the Palestinian side. Medical aid groups that relied on the Rafah crossing for entry into Gaza have been forced instead to use Kerem Shalom \u2013 a crossing previously used for commercial goods \u2013 to get from Israel into southern Gaza. <\/p>\n
Before the war, Palestinian medics and medics of Palestinian heritage who held other passports could apply to Israel for entry into Gaza and have no issues getting approval. They would enter the strip through the Erez crossing, between Israel and northern Gaza, which has been closed since it was destroyed in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7. <\/p>\n
International aid organizations are demanding that Israel drop the new restrictions affecting medical missions, pointing to the dire need for their teams to enter Gaza, which has had its healthcare system decimated by Israel\u2019s war, launched in response to the Hamas-led attacks of October 7. Since then, more than 500 healthcare workers have been killed and 32 out of 36 hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. <\/p>\n
In an email sent by a WHO regional office, teams were told that the new COGAT policy stated that anyone with Palestinian background or roots would be denied border crossing through Kerem Shalom. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe reiterate that we STRONGLY advice (sic) against any attempt of entering Gaza with a Palestinian background\/roots,\u201d the email stated. <\/p>\n
Another WHO email sent a few days later explained that rejections could also be simply due to ancestry, such as having \u201cparents or grandparents who were born or formerly established in Palestine, with or even without Palestinian ID.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are having HUGE problems with this, as COGAT keeps rejecting many people for this reason,\u201d the email said. <\/p>\n
In one WHO document from early June detailing updated guidance, aid groups were told that \u201cit is not recommended that staff with dual citizenship (Palestinian) enter Gaza due to issues with permits.\u201d <\/p>\n
Thaer Ahmad, a Palestinian-American doctor from Chicago who went on a medical trip to Gaza in January, was in Cairo preparing for another trip in May when Israel seized the Rafah crossing, blocking humanitarian and medical aid groups from entering. <\/p>\n
\u201cI find it so heartbreaking and tragic that any connection to the land is used against healthcare workers trying to help,\u201d said Ahmad, who walked out of a White House meeting with Muslim community leaders in April in protest of the Biden administration\u2019s support of the war. \u201cTo be deprived of being able to put my skills to use for my people, at the height of their suffering and pain is especially cruel.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the limited amount of seats that we have, we can\u2019t risk it,\u201d said Dr. Mustafa Musleh, the president of PAMA. \u201cIt is not necessarily something that we want, and we really prefer not to do that. But I don\u2019t think we have a choice at this point.\u201d <\/p>\n
Another organization posted a recruiting ad on Instagram calling for surgeons to apply for its upcoming medical mission trip to Gaza. The ad disclosed that \u201capplicants with a Palestinian ID or Palestinian roots are not allowed into Gaza.\u201d The post has since been deleted. <\/p>\n
Musleh emphasized that there are significant advantages to including medical workers with the same background and roots as the populations they are treating in mission teams, since it means they can understand the language and culture. <\/p>\n
Palestinians have faced decades of tight restrictions on their movement by Israel, imposed through a complex system of permits, walls, checkpoints and border crossings. Unlike Israeli settlers \u2013 who can generally move freely without restriction \u2013 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are required to obtain special permits from the Israeli government. <\/p>\n
According to B\u2019Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, Palestinians face \u201can arbitrary, entirely non-transparent bureaucratic system\u201d in which many permits are denied or revoked without explanation. <\/p>\n
For Palestinian doctors hoping to provide care for their people, Israel\u2019s decision to deny them entry to Gaza has left them in despair. <\/p>\n
\u201cYour hands are tied, and you feel hopeless,\u201d Suleiman lamented. \u201cI don\u2019t understand these people, how they decide to do this to someone that\u2019s just going in for two weeks to serve the purpose of helping people.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt does not feel right being denied just because of the place you were born and being treated different than other US citizens,\u201d Musleh said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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