By Sheila Corson
Chronicle staff

     After a successful entry into Gaza to bring aid to people living there, Dr. Bill Dienst, an Omak physician, and at least three other aid workers and activists were trapped for a week within the 27-foot walls surrounding the area.
     On Sept. 7, Dienst finally was able to leave through the Rafah exit to Egypt, according to Marianne Torres, part of the Committee to Free Dr. Dienst.
     Dienst, part of the Free Gaza Movement, and a team of 44 sailed to the 168-square-mile land of Gaza in the hope of ending the Israeli siege on the 1.5 million people there, according to Free Gaza information. Most of those in Gaza are living in extreme poverty and depending on aid to survive, according to the group.
     Some Israeli naval vessels fired on a few Free Gaza boats en route to Gaza. But the boats arrived to cheering Gazan crowds, according to news reports from Free Gaza.
     After Dienst's boat arrived in Gaza, the team provided medical assistance to the residents, including distributing 200 hearing aids, Torres said. The boat left Aug. 28, leaving at least four team members behind to provide room for Palestinians on the boat.
     But when the internationals tried to exit Gaza Aug. 29 through Israeli-controlled Eretz, they were denied, according to Free Gaza. They also were denied exit through the Egypt checkpoint of Rafah.
     According to Free Gaza, Israelis claimed that the internationals entered illegally by sea. Free Gaza officials said the "voyage had been formally allowed by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Internal Affairs Ministry."
     According to Torres, Israel shouldn't have any jurisdiction over Gaza, since Israelis say they do not occupy Gaza.
     But despite the resistance from others, the Palestinians in Gaza have been overjoyed to have the Free Gaza folks there, according to team reports.
     "We have been called 'heroes' by the local Gazan people, and given Palestinian citizenship and Palestinian VIP passports, which don't seem to work at Palestinian borders," Dienst wrote in an e-mail.
     "We are being cared for and are in good spirits, but can't get out," he said last week while still in Gaza.
     Dienst was supposed to head back to work Sept. 8. He called Gaza the largest "concentration camp" in the world.
     His freedom came after "a week of a high-pressure campaign here in the states through Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray and the State Department resulted in Dr. Dienst's release Sunday morning," Torres said.
     A deluge of calls to their offices resulted in action, Torres said.
     "No Congress person wants to appear to have criticized Israel in any way, so it's always difficult to get action on these issues," she added.
     More information is available at www.freegaza.org.