Guelph, Ont., doctor en route to Gaza aide work says he was denied entry to Israel for carrying medical items

A Guelph, Ont., doctor is speaking out after he was stopped by an Israeli border guard while trying to enter Gaza to do humanitarian work and then was ultimately barred from continuing his trip.

Dr. Hassan Kapasi told CBC News that twice last year — in the wake of an Israel-Hamas truce deal signed by both sides as part of efforts to end the years-long war — he attempted to drive to Gaza from Jordan, which means driving through Israel.

His first attempt to cross was on Nov. 25, when Kapasi was on a bus sent by the United Nations (UN). It was full of mostly medical staff representing various non-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Doctors Without Borders, the United Nations World Food Programme and Catholic Relief Services.

Kapasi was there on the behalf of Humanity Auxilium, a Texas-based NGO, to help support surgeons dealing with the growing medical needs of patients at the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza.

The bus was stopped at the Allenby Bridge, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, by an Israeli border guard for a random baggage check. During the search, the border guard found general medical equipment, including a stethoscope and temperature probe, Band-Aids and blood pressure cuffs.

Kapasi said the guard told him he was being denied entry because they believed he intended to distribute the items in Gaza.

"It's kind of arbitrary because everyone on the convoy who's medical has stuff like this."

Kapasi tried to enter again on Dec. 4 — he said the same border guard recognized him and told him he was banned from ever entering the country again.

"I was the only one singled out the second time, and this time there was no reason," Kapasi said, adding he was not carrying any medical equipment during his December entry attempt.

"They gave me a piece of paper saying that I'm a security threat or a threat to public safety, and I can never enter Israel again in the future."

Specifically, the paper gives the reason for denying Kapasi entry as "public security or public safety or public order considerations."

Kapasi said his colleague, British surgeon Dr. Muhammed Farooq, and another Italian doctor from Catholic Relief Services were also turned away on Nov. 25. The remaining group of about 30 people were allowed to pass through.

"We followed all the rules," Farooq said. "We thought they would let us through ... confiscate our stuff and let us through, but then they didn't."

Farooq, a colorectal surgeon at Harrogate District Hospital in the United Kingdom, successfully crossed the Israeli border three times before he was stopped for the first time last November. He hopes to try to go again in about six months to a year.