Tel Aviv – PNN – Earlier this week, Israeli occupation authorities barred two American doctors from entering the West Bank despite their having obtained prior approval through the electronic permit system operated by the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli body overseeing affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.

According to Israel’s Ministry of Health, the doctors were denied entry because they were representing a relief organization whose activities had not been approved by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, Haaretz reported on Thursday.

The two doctors, Mariam Al-Saadi and Omar Chaudhry, volunteers with the organization Healing Palestine, had received an official invitation from the Palestinian Ministry of Health to perform about 40 surgeries in hospitals in Hebron and Beit Jala as part of a medical mission aimed at supporting local surgical teams. However, Israeli authorities detained and interrogated them at the Allenby (King Hussein) Bridge crossing before denying them entry after about four hours of waiting.

Attorney Yotam Ben Hillel, representing the organization, said the doctors had obtained written approval from the Israeli army and that the denial was “arbitrary and illegal.” He added that the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs “has no authority to bar humanitarian workers from entering the Palestinian territories,” and that the decision violates Israel’s obligations under international law.

During the interrogation, the two doctors were subjected to lengthy questioning by Israeli soldiers and individuals in civilian clothing, during which they were asked to resubmit documents they had already provided. Their social media accounts were examined, and they were questioned about their Pakistani heritage and any possible connections to Gaza.

The doctors refused to provide the soldiers with the names of the patients they were to treat, stating that doing so would violate patient confidentiality.

The entry denial came just days after the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs rejected the official registration of Healing Palestine in Israel, claiming—without providing evidence—that the organization worked to “delegitimize the state.” The organization, founded in January 2024, provides medical and humanitarian relief in Gaza and the West Bank, including sending volunteer doctors and facilitating treatment abroad for injured children.

The doctors explained that the Palestinian Authority’s financial crisis has left hospitals in the West Bank in urgent need of volunteer medical teams from abroad, making the Israeli ban a severe blow to the Palestinian health sector and international humanitarian efforts.

In response to the incident, COGAT stated that entry for international aid workers is “permitted only for organizations recognized by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs,” adding that the rejection of Healing Palestine’s registration automatically resulted in the denial of entry for its medical staff.