Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta, who had been invited to a conference at the Senate, was barred from entering France

Palestinian surgeon and physician Ghassan Abu Sitta, who is also the rector of the University of Glasgow, was denied entry into France upon his arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Having spent a month in the Gaza Strip working as a war doctor, notably alongside the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), he had been invited to speak at the conference “France and Its Responsibility in the Enforcement of International Law in Gaza,” held at the French Senate, where he was due to testify about the atrocities he had witnessed on the ground.

French authorities justified the decision by citing a visa ban issued by Germany, which was valid throughout the Schengen Area for one year. Despite efforts by the conference organizers to obtain an exemption from the French Ministry of the Interior, no derogation was granted.