Organ harvesting of Palestinians contravenes UDHR: Al-Azhar prof.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Mkhaimar Abusada, professor at al-Azhar University in Gaza, to discuss the recent remarks by the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN) that Tel Aviv is harvesting the organs of Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied territories.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: These accusations of organ harvesting, as we have just said, are not the first times that have been labeled against Israeli authorities. What do you make of it?

Abusada: Well, let me start by saying that over the past half century, since the beginning of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories (West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem), more than 7, 50,000 Palestinians have been arrested by Israel and tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and injured as a result of Israeli disproportionate use of force and as a result of Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.

And lately, since the beginning of the third Palestinian Intifada (uprising) which started last month beginning of October, more than 75 Palestinians have been killed and shot dead by Israeli soldiers and more than 2,200 Palestinians have been injured in addition to hundreds of other Palestinians  who have been detained by Israeli occupation forces.

Now, in addition to that, a number of those Palestinians who carried out attacks or arms struggle against Israeli soldiers and Israeli settlers, their bodies, have been detained by Israeli occupation forces until now in spite of the fact that some bodies have been turned out to their families, but as it was stated by Palestinian Ambassador to the UN today Mr. Riyad Mansour that some of the bodies of Palestinian martyrs are missing parts of their body organs.

Palestinian medical teams have carried out autopsies for those Palestinian martyrs and found out that they are missing some of their body organs which is in contradiction with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and also this is in contradiction with the Fourth Geneva Convention, which organizes the relationship between the occupiers and those who are under occupation, which in my opinion is a case to be followed within international human rights organizations and also within the ICC (the International Criminal Court) to sue Israel or its violation of international humanitarian law.

Press TV: Professor Abusada the question obviously remains about the current situation in the occupied territories as a whole be it organ harvesting, their refusal to hand over the bodies of Palestinians or just continued crackdown of Palestinians as a whole. Where is the situation headed because many have pointed out that the Palestinian Authority has not played a leadership role over here?  

Abusada: Well that is a very good question. As I mentioned, this Israeli occupation has been going on for almost half a century now since 1967, departing the Palestinians from their basic rights. And as a result of this Israeli occupation, settlement expansion and Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, the Palestinians throughout the past 20 years or 25 years have launched a number of Intifada. The first Intifada was back in 1987, the second Intifada in September 2012 and this is the third Intifada against Israel, against its continuation of its occupation, against settlement expansion and against Israeli discrimination against the Palestinians.  

It seems to me that the situation is headed for further escalation as a result of Israeli aggression which is continuation of its occupation, continuation of settlement expansion, house demolition, mass arrest of Palestinian people and also street executions as we have seen, over the past 35 days, a number of Palestinians have been executed without proper trial or any investigation.

This Israeli discrimination, this Israeli aggression, will definitely fuel further Palestinian anger, fuel further Palestinian desperation with Israel which will definitely lead the Palestinians to continue with their Intifada, to continue with their struggle until there is an end to this Israeli occupation, until there is end to this Israeli discrimination and that the Palestinians are able to regain their human rights and political rights.  

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