July 25, 2009

Scotsman: Palestinian Fringe writer stuck in Gaza

From the Scotsman, June 25:

Fringe writer stuck in Gaza

By TIM CORNWELL

A PALESTINIAN playwright whose Fringe play tells of the Israeli assault on the Palestinian territory of Gaza has become trapped there on his first visit in seven years.

Ahmed Masoud is a UK resident whose wife is expecting their first child in October. He went to Gaza to visit his mother after a cancer operation and has been unable to leave.

His play, Go to Gaza, Drink the Sea, opened in London in February, just after the Israeli military operation in Gaza, blamed for the loss of more than 1,000 Palestinian lives.

Masoud, who has a Palestinian passport, but is a legal British resident, got into Gaza when the Rafah border crossing from Egypt was briefly opened. When he tried to leave by the same route, he was turned away.

He was due in Edinburgh for rehearsals this week. The play opens on 6 August.

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