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Photo: AP
Dr. Gilbert in Gaza
Photo: AP

Israel bans Norwegian doctor from entering Gaza due to 'security reasons'

Mads Gilbert, who treated patients in Gaza Strip for over decade and repeatedly condemned IDF's actions, banned from entering Gaza Strip for life.

Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian doctor who treated thousands of Palestinians injured during the Gaza conflicts, has been banned from entering the Gaza Strip for life, Israeli authorities announced Friday, the Norwegian edition of The Local news website reported.

 

 

Security reasons were cited as Israel authorities' motivations for the ban.

 

The 67-year-old activist, who has repeatedly condemned the IDF's actions in Gaza, worked at Shifa Medical Center during the previous round of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants and during Operation Cast Lead in 2008.

 

Gilbert was preventing by Israeli officials from entering the region during his attempt to return to the area in order to aid medical teams in the Gaza hospital, the Norwegian website reported.

 

“When we came back to the Erez border station, the Israeli soldiers told me that I could not go in to Gaza," the website quoted Gilbert as saying.

 

The news site further reported that Gilbert believes the ban was imposed due to his outspoken critical comments against Israel.

 

Following the announcement, the doctor announced that he would work to overturn the ban, the site said. “I’m a doctor, I’m no security threat. I have done nothing wrong, I have never broken Israeli law or taken part in illegal activities. I have had valid travel documents from the state of Israel.” Gilbert told NRK.

 

During the military offensive in 2009, Gilbert gave dozens of interviews to leading television networks such as ABC, CNN, al-Jazeera and Sky News. Wearing a white robe and standing at a corridor of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the doctor reported of the IDF's "deliberate attacks" against women and children. He also blamed Israel for waging "an all-out war against Gaza civilians."

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.14.14, 20:52
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