The Israeli government has accused the University of Glasgow’s rector of being a “propagandist and a fraud” after he claimed organs had been removed from the bodies of Palestinians.
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a plastic surgeon who specialises in conflict injuries, said photographs of the remains of Gazans showed evidence of what he described as expert surgery to take out parts.
Critics of Israel have long charged the country with organ harvesting — in what Jewish commentators believe is antisemitic trope inspired by centuries-old blood libels of Jews taking children to kill them.
Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
KRISTIAN BUUS/IN PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES
Such claims become supercharged after an Israeli pathologist admitted some body parts had been retained from patients in a controversy similar to those in western countries, including at the University of Glasgow.
Abu-Sittah made his claims after being shown images by the Arab language TV station Al Jazeera, which has previously broadcast organ-harvesting allegations. Videos of his remarks have been widely circulated in the Middle East.
“The first observation is that, in all the bodies that organs were harvested or removed are those that are now routinely transplanted: the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and corneas,” Abu-Sittah said, according to translations in regional media.
“The method of extraction — the rib cage and ribs were clipped with a sharp saw, a medical saw, a bone saw — and the sternum, along with the central part of the ribs, was lifted to allow for the removal of the heart and lungs without damage to the organs being taken.”
Abu Sitta speaks at a demonstration in support of Palestinian people at University College London in May last year
BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in London said: “Abu-Sittah’s latest accusations are a disgraceful fabrication. We reject them entirely. They are defamatory, dangerous, and designed to incite hatred. His claims are grotesque lies, a modern reworking of the classic blood libels levelled against Jews and Israelis for generations.
“Abu-Sittah is a propagandist and a fraud. His conspiracy-ridden narratives, his willingness to manipulate imagery and testimony, and his repeated use of incendiary rhetoric place him far outside any standard of medical ethics or professional integrity. His sensational claims have been debunked time and again; he relies on shock value, not fact.
“We are, regrettably, not surprised that such fabrications were broadcast by Al Jazeera a network with a long record of amplifying unverified allegations that demonise Israel while platforming terrorists.
“Those who choose to platform or repeat such fabrications should reflect on the serious real-world harm caused by spreading deliberate misinformation in the service of political agendas.”
Abu-Sittah was elected rector for the University of Glasgow — his alma mater — last year, eliciting concerns from Jewish students. Last month a student group called the Glasgow University Justice for Palestine Society (GUJPS) gathered under a banner reading “Glory to Our Martyrs”.
On social media the protest was advertised as an opportunity to “celebrate the glorious Al-Aqsa Flood which permanently crippled the Zionist entity, putting it into a state of slow but inevitable collapse”.
That post was followed by warnings of disciplinary action from the university’s leadership and interest from Police Scotland because “al-Aqsa Flood” is the name given to the events of October 7, 2023, by Hamas, the group that rules Gaza and is a proscribed terror organisation in the UK.
The rector of the University of Glasgow is elected through a student-only poll every three years. It is a statutory position primarily focused on representing the student body at the highest level of university governance.
Charles Kennedy, the late former Liberal Democrat leader, Richard Wilson, the actor best known for playing Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave and Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower, are among the figures to hold the position.
Abu-Sittah has been asked to comment on the Israeli statement.