Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
Israel has once again been accused of stealing the organs, and eyes, of Palestinian bodies in their possession. The newest claims by health officials in Gaza have mirrored past confessions by Israeli forensic experts in Tel Aviv.
A high-level health official in Gaza has reported that a specialized committee is working to identify the bodies of 90 Palestinians returned by Israel as part of a recent ceasefire and hostage-exchange agreement. The remains, transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, have sparked accusations of war crimes, including torture, field executions, and organ theft, by Gaza officials.
Allegations of Organ Theft
The Gaza Government Media Office issued a formal accusation on Friday, alleging the Israeli military had stolen organs from the corpses. Ismail Thawabteh, the office's director, told Anadolu Agency that the occupation had "desecrated" the bodies.
"Parts of many martyrs' bodies are missing, including eyes, corneas, and other organs," Thawabteh said, calling it a "heinous crime" and demanding an international investigation.
Dr. Munir al-Barsh elaborated on this, claiming that many bodies had been "emptied of vital organs (heart, liver, kidneys, cornea) and stuffed with white cotton to hide the extraction."
This is not the first time such accusations have surfaced.
The L. Greenberg National Institute of Forensic Medicine, commonly known as the "Abu Kabir Forensic Institute," is in Tel Aviv.
Dr. Yehuda Hiss served as the chief pathologist and director of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute from 1988 until his removal from administration in 2004, though he remained chief pathologist until 2012.
Dr. Nancy Scheper-Hughes, an American medical anthropologist, conducted an interview with Yehuda Hiss in 2000. Hiss admitted that the institute was taking organs and tissues "informally" and without permission. This included the harvesting of corneas, heart valves, bones, and skin.
In 2009, Swedish journalist Donald Bostrm, writing in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, found that young Palestinian men killed by the Israeli army during the First Intifada in the late 1980s and early 1990s were subject to Israeli organ-harvesting practices.
In December 2009, the Israeli military (IDF) admitted that the Abu Kabir Institute had, during the 1990s, "harvested" tissues, including corneas, skin, and bones, from bodies, including those of Palestinians, without family consent.
Israeli law mandates an autopsy for anyone who dies in "unnatural" circumstances or "while in custody," including prisoners. This autopsy is performed exclusively at the Abu Kabir Institute.
The identification process is fraught with challenges. Dr. Mohammed Zaqout, Director-General of Hospitals in Gaza, stated that while some bodies from the initial batch were recognizable, many others are in an advanced state of decomposition, making identification extremely difficult.
The committee has received no information to aid their work, such as names or circumstances of death. "What we received are bodies carrying only symbols and numbers," one committee member said.
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