This incident follows his earlier denial of entry into Germany in April, when authorities there prohibited a pro-Palestinian gathering in Berlin, which Abu Sitta was slated to attend.
A prominent British-Palestinian surgeon, who volunteered in Gaza’s hospitals during the initial weeks of Israel’s genocidal war, was denied entry into France, where he was scheduled to address the Senate and speak about what he witnessed in Gaza.
Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, who is also Glasgow University rector, shared his ordeal after arriving at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on a Saturday.
“I am at Charles De Gaulle airport. They are preventing me from entering France,” Dr. Abu Sitta wrote on X.
“I am supposed to speak at the French Senate today. They say the Germans put a 1 year ban on my entry to Europe,” he added.
I am at Charles De Gaule airport. They are preventing me from entering France. I am supposed to speak at the French Senate today. They say the Germans put a 1 year ban on my entry to Europe.
— Ghassan Abu Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) May 4, 2024
This incident follows his earlier denial of entry into Germany in April, when authorities there prohibited a pro-Palestinian gathering in Berlin, which Abu Sitta was slated to attend.
“Fortress Europe is suppressing eyewitnesses to the atrocities, while Israel continues its actions with impunity,” Dr. Abu Sitta also said.
The German authorities’ actions drew criticism in April when police in Berlin disrupted a conference where Dr. Abu Sitta was a participant.
The event, which was intended to deliberate on various subjects, including Germany’s arms exports to Israel and solidarity with Palestine, was abruptly terminated with electricity being cut off.
‘Silencing a Witness to Genocide’ – Germany Denies Entry to Doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta
Abu Sitta recounted facing forced prevention from entering Germany by the government after lengthy interrogations.
Activists and human rights organizations widely condemned his deportation by German authorities.
With over three decades of experience, Abu Sitta has provided medical assistance in twelve conflict zones across Yemen, Iraq, Syria, South Lebanon, and Gaza.
Upon his return, he provided testimony to the UK’s Metropolitan Police, detailing the deaths he witnessed and the types of weaponry employed, as part of evidence gathering for an International Criminal Court investigation into alleged war crimes by Israel.
The murder of Dr Adnan Al-Bursh in Israeli prisons was a red-line in the same way the Al-Ahli Hospital massacre was. Once safely crossed the whole project can be rolled out. The lives of over 100 health workers in prisons are in danger.
— Ghassan Abu Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) May 3, 2024
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,654 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,908 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
