Despite Israel's harsh
protests, Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet published a second article accusing the IDF of harvesting Palestinian organs.
In the article, published Sunday, Oisín Cantwell and Urban Andersson report from the northern West Bank village of Imatin, where 19-year-old Bilal Ahmad Ghanem was killed during a clash with Israeli soldiers in 1992.
| Libel |
|
| Swedish daily: IDF killed Palestinians for organs / Roni Sofer |
|
Article published by Aftonbladet reporter claims soldiers snatched Palestinian youths and returned their dismembered bodies a few days later. Foreign Ministry: Shocking example of Israel's demonization |
| Full story |
|
|
|
Ghanem's family claims that his body was returned several days later, wrapped in hospital bandages. Aftonbladet published what is said was a photo of the body, which had a scar running from the neck down to the abdomen.
The second article, titled "Mother never stopped suffering; she never stopped wondering," quoted Bilal's brother as saying that the killed teen was "hunted by Israel for protecting his people."
The brother, who was 15-years-old at the time, recounted the shooting incident. "A number of (IDF) soldiers ambushed (the Palestinians) and opened fire. The fist shot hit (Bilal) in the chest, the second in the leg. We believe that he was still alive after sustaining the two bullet wounds."
The mother, Sadija, told Aftonbladet "they could have arrested him, but instead they decided to kill him.
Article on Aftonbladet website
According to the family, the IDF demanded NIS 5,000 (about $1,300) to return the body.
"It was the middle of the night. The soldiers caused an electrical power outage in the entire village. Bilal was returned in a black bag; he had no teeth. The body was stitched from the neck all the way down to the abdomen," the Swedish newspaper quoted the mother as saying.
According to the article, when asked what happened to the body, the soldiers said it had undergone an autopsy in Tel Aviv. The family, however, claims Bilal's organs had been stolen.
The Israeli government declared Sunday morning that it expects the
Swedish government to officially condemn the first Aftonbladet report.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said,
"We do not want the Swedish government to apologize, we want it to issue a condemnation."
On Thursday Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman slammed
the Swedish Foreign Ministry for saying that Swedish Ambassador to Israel Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier's condemnation of the report does not represent the Swedish government's stance.
"It's a shame that the Swedish Foreign Ministry fails to intervene in a case of blood libels against Jews. This is reminiscent of Sweden's stand during World War II, when had failed to intervene as well," Lieberman said.
RSS
