Jewish and Arab Israeli cardiologists were denied visas at the last minute to attend a professional conference in Dubai.

Only two of the more than one dozen Israeli doctors invited to present talks at or participate in the World Heart Federation conference in Dubai last week were able to attend, The Jerusalem Post reported. Some 12,000 cardiologists attended the conference.

Each of the Israelis denied visas had paid $3,000 to attend the conference, including hotel and airfare. The conference, which had pledged to try to ensure that Israelis would be given visas to enter Saudi Arabia, reportedly would not refund the doctors’ conference fees.

The Israelis who did attend the conference were confined to the hotel, The Jerusalem Post reported.

In January 2010, it was suspected that Israeli agents used foreign passports to travel undercover into Dubai in order to assassinate Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

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