Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu Sittah wins misconduct case Submitted by MEE staff on Sat, 01/10/2026 - 10:41 Pro-Israel lawyers brought case against doctor alleging unfitness to practise medicine Ghassan Abu Sittah stands with health in a solidarity protest with 173 Palestinian medical workers being held by Israeli authorities in London on 30 August 2024, to mark International Day of the Disappeared (Benjamin Cremel / AFP) Off Prominent Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu Sittah has won a misconduct case opened by the General Medical Council (GMC) following complaints from British pro-Israel activists. Abu Sittah, a Kuwait-born reconstructive plastic surgery consultant, was the subject of a complaint made by pro-Israel pressure group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) in 2023. It related to an article Abu Sittah had written in the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar and two reposts on X, which UKLFI alleged had "impaired his fitness to practise". The article referred to the "martyrdom" of alleged Hamas member Ahmad Nasr Jarrar, and stated that "the people have no weapon left but revolutionary violence". On Friday, the Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service dismissed the two-year-long case, saying they could not find anything in the article that could be considered antisemitic or supportive of terrorism or violence. Abu Sittah, who is also rector of the University of Glasgow, had also reposted a tweet that said: "We congratulate our brothers in Hamas and our comrades in the Popular Front on the anniversary of their inception." The tribunal said that the "ordinary reader" would see the tweet as a celebration of an anniversary and not as "material or moral aid" to a terrorist organisation. In a statement, Abu Sittah said the complaint against him was part of a broader "lawfare" strategy to silence and intimate supporters of Palestine. "I do not, and have never, supported violence against civilians. I know too well its consequences," he said. "I can tell you what a child's face looks like when half of it has been blown away, and what it means to spend an entire night amputating the limbs of children in an overcrowded hospital." He said that UKLFI aimed to "instrumentalise the regulatory processes" to shut down his advocacy. "This was the second complaint made against me to the GMC by UK Lawyers for Israel, and the tenth complaint made by them overall. The Tribunal's decision now stands in full view of the public," he said. Abu Sittah spent 43 days in Gaza during Israel's initial attack in October 2023, providing medical care during the assault. In the initial weeks after Israel began its assault, Abu Sittah was the unofficial English-language representative of Palestinian doctors and surgeons treating Palestinians wounded by Israeli attacks. He accused the Israeli military of using white phosphorus, which is illegal in built-up and populated areas like Gaza, and deliberately targeting children. Occupation News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0