In a significant ruling, the UK’s Medical Practitioner Tribunal Service has dismissed a professional misconduct case against Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, a prominent Palestinian reconstructive surgeon. The case, initiated by the pro-Israel advocacy group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) in 2023, alleged that Dr. Abu Sittah’s public writings and social media posts impaired his fitness to practice medicine.
The complaint centered on an article published in the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar and two reposted messages on the social media platform X. The article referenced the ‘martyrdom’ of alleged Hamas member Ahmad Nasr Jarrar and contained the phrase ‘the people have no weapon left but revolutionary violence.’ Another reposted tweet congratulated Hamas and the Popular Front on their anniversary.
After a two-year investigation, the tribunal concluded that an ‘ordinary reader’ would interpret the anniversary tweet as a simple commemoration rather than as material or moral support for a terrorist organization. Furthermore, the panel found no evidence that the content was antisemitic or constituted endorsement of terrorism or violence.
Dr. Abu Sittah, who is also the rector of the University of Glasgow, characterized the complaint as part of a broader ‘lawfare’ strategy designed to silence and intimidate supporters of Palestinian rights. He vehemently denied supporting violence against civilians, stating, ‘I know too well its consequences… I can tell you what a child’s face looks like when half of it has been blown away.’
The surgeon revealed this was the second complaint filed against him with the General Medical Council by UKLFI and the tenth such complaint by the group overall. Dr. Abu Sittah gained international recognition for providing medical care during 43 days in Gaza following Israel’s initial offensive in October 2023, where he served as an unofficial English-language representative for Palestinian medics and made allegations regarding the Israeli military’s use of white phosphorus in populated areas.