Right, I'm aware of this, and borders in general suck. I've had a fair few bizarre experiences at borders, some of them funny (like the Lebanese border guard who insisted on speaking Spanish to me) and some quite shitty (lookin at you, Israel). But to me, the above story is quite the outlier in terms of sheer hostility, from a country that I didn't think of as being particularly draconian at the border.
Normally you can get two/three passports for that reason.
Previously the Israelis stapled a piece of paper with a stamp on it, you take it out before you go to the GCC. Now its not even stapled. (They photograph your passport & stamp pages though...) https://www.touristisrael.com/the-israeli-passport-stamp/974...
Two of them are British, as am I. I looked into the process, but then changed the focus of my work and didn't need to travel so intensely. Essentially, I would have sent in a normal passport renewal form, and attached a letter saying "I'm going to X countries in the last Y months, so need a second passport". "I'm going to X as well as Y" is an equally valid reason.
Germany and I think most other EU countries with heavy industries absolutely do this, because it is necessary to do business in the middle east.
https://pointstobemade.boardingarea.com/2018/02/22/getting-a... https://www.passports.gov.au/using-your-passport/concurrent-... https://photos.state.gov/libraries/france/45994/pdf/second.p... https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F21517 https://www.rapidevisa.fr/actualites/174-comment-obtenir-off...
Learn something new on HN every day :-)
The more you travel, the more common it is.
The phone thing is somewhat new, ever since certain companies started selling devices to governments that let them crack, examine, and archive your phone.
But being hassled at the border has always been a risk. Before it was terrorism, it was drugs, or just the change in culture.
I've had problems getting into Japan because of my heart medication.
I've read that if you have stamps in your passport from certain Middle Eastern countries, you can't get into some other Middle Eastern countries.
I've also read quite extensively recently that it's become very difficult for Indians to get into Georgia. Entire families, and even planeloads of people have been turned away, if you believe what you read on TripAdvisor.