Israel bars US physicians from entering West Bank and treating Palestinian patients

The Allenby Bridge crossing in September 2025

Amira Hass reports in Haaretzon 16 November 2025:

Israel barred two U.S. physicians from entering the West Bank last week, even though their visit had been coordinated with the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and approved through its electronic entry permit system, Haaretz has learned.

The two physicians, Dr. Maryam Saidy and Dr. Umer Chaudhry, volunteers for the HEAL Palestine nonprofit group, arrived at the Allenby Bridge crossing from Jordan, also known as the Karameh border terminal. There they were questioned by Israeli soldiers, who informed them after around four hours that their entry to the West Bank had been denied.

-A third doctor was due to join them a day later.

Both physicians work for the Kaiser Permanente health care consortium in California and teach medical students.

Saidy and Chaudhary and their colleague had been invited by the Palestinian Health Ministry. The team was scheduled to perform about 40 surgeries at government hospitals in Hebron and Beit Jala in the West Bank, and to aid surgical teams treating children.

COGAT said that HEAL Palestine had not been approved by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, so the doctors were denied entry.

An Israeli security source told Haaretz that COGAT “never informed HEAL Palestine that the physicians’ entry had been approved.” But Haaretz saw the email that all three doctors had received from COGAT; it stated in Hebrew that “entry to the Judea and Samaria area, through the Allenby Bridge crossing only, has been approved and coordinated for a period of 16 days from the date of entry.”

COGAT, however, added that the permit was “subject to the absence of security, criminal or immigration-related indications,” and that a representative of the military commander at the border crossing may deny the doctors entry at their discretion and for security reasons.

But attorney Yotam Ben Hillel, who represents HEAL Palestine and the physicians, said the permit meant “full approval,” adding: “This is what all entry permits to the West Bank look like today, regardless of the purpose of the visit.”

Speaking to Haaretz from Amman last week, Saidy and Chaudhry said they were questioned several times by armed Israeli soldiers, while other detained travelers were questioned by people in civilian clothing. The two added that the soldiers spoke to them rudely and demanded to see documents that had already been submitted as part of their entry permit application.

The soldiers also examined the two physicians’ social media accounts and contact lists, asking whether they knew anyone in Gaza or had ever been there, Saidy and Chaudhry said. The two refused the soldiers’ demand to provide the names of the patients they were scheduled to treat in the West Bank, saying that this would be an unlawful invasion of privacy.

Saidy and Chaudhry were also questioned about their Pakistani descent, though both are U.S. citizens only. Saidy said she and her two colleagues had prepared for the trip for about six months, while Chaudhry added that hospitals in the West Bank urgently need volunteers like them, as the Palestinian Authority’s financial crisis has severely weakened the health sector.

HEAL Palestine was founded in January 2024 and began operating in Gaza, providing assistance such as distributing food, bringing in volunteer physicians and sending wounded children abroad for treatment. Its founder, Steve Sosebee, previously headed a medical relief organization and has extensive experience organizing medical delegations from abroad to Gaza and the West Bank.

On November 2, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry rejected the application to register HEAL Palestine in Israel. Before October 7, 2023, international aid organizations seeking to operate among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank were registered through the Welfare Ministry. After the war began, Israel tightened restrictions on issuing entry permits for employees of such organizations.

Following a petition calling for a clear policy on the approval of nonprofit groups, an interministerial committee was established last December, headed by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry. The panel was tasked with screening organizations and vetting their personnel, based on strict new conditions.

According to Ben Hillel, a team led by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry determined that HEAL Palestine “operates to delegitimize Israel,” without providing any evidence to support this claim, despite the organization’s repeated requests for proof. He added that the ministry has “no authority to bar the entry of nonprofit staff into the West Bank, and doing so violates Israel’s obligations under international law.”

Ben Hillel said that COGAT “eagerly complied with the ministry’s instructions,” thereby undermining the delegation’s work and harming dozens of Palestinian patients.

COGAT responded that “in accordance with the directives of the Israeli government and legal authorities, the entry of teams from international organizations into the West Bank or Gaza is permitted only for organizations approved by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry.

“This organization was denied approval, and therefore, in accordance with the law, the entry of its staff was refused.”

The Diaspora Affairs Ministry said: “Israel will not allow its enemies a foothold in the guise of humanitarian aid,” adding that “85 percent of the groups operating in good faith to help the local residents” have received approval. Haaretz cannot verify this claim at this stage.

The ministry did not answer when asked if it had not provided evidence for its claims that HEAL Palestine took part in efforts to delegitimize Israel.

This article is reproduced in its entirety