JERUSALEM: Israel has blocked Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert from entering the country and thereby accessing the Gaza Strip, but denied yesterday it had imposed a lifelong ban on the outspoken medic.
“He has been banned from entering Israel,” foreign ministry spokesman Paul Hirschson said, categorically denying reports Gilbert had been blocked from entering Gaza.
News of the ban was first reported last week by Norwegian media which said Israel had barred Gilbert from Gaza for life.
The outspoken trauma specialist — who has worked in the Palestinian territories for three decades — accused Israeli authorities of backtracking yesterday, following calls from Norway to reconsider the ban.
“They have a little trouble explaining if I’m banned from Gaza or Israel,” he said.
Gilbert was one of two dozen European doctors who signed a letter published in leading medical journal The Lancet in July. The letter described Israel’s recent 50-day Gaza military campaign as a “crime against humanity”.
AFP
