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Ghassan Abu-Sittah

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Ghassan Abu-Sittah
غسان أبو ستة
Abu-Sittah in 2023
Born
Ghassan Soleiman Abu-Sittah[1]

1969 (age 54–55)
Kuwait
Other namesGhassan Abu Sitta
Alma mater
Children3
Websitedrghassanabusittah.com

Ghassan Soleiman Abu-Sittah (Arabic: غسان أبو ستة; born 1969) is a British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon who specialises in craniofacial surgery, aesthetic surgery, cleft lip and palate surgery, and trauma-related injuries.[2] Since April 2024, he serves as Rector of the University of Glasgow.

He is known for providing medical assistance as a surgeon in conflict zones, particularly in the Gaza Strip. He first visited the Gaza Strip as a medical student during the First Intifada in 1989, and was a member of Medical Aid for Palestinians during the Second Intifada starting 2000. He also travelled to the Gaza Strip during the 2008-2009 war, the 2012 operation, the 2014 war, and the 2018 Great March of Return. Abu-Sittah has also provided medical assistance in the war zones in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.[3]

Abu-Sittah returned to the Gaza Strip after the start of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, where he provided medical assistance with Doctors Without Borders out of the Al-Shifa Hospital. He has spoken to news outlets participated in press conferences discussing his experiences. In January 2024, he travelled to the Hague to meet with International Criminal Court (ICC) investigators.

Early life and education

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Abu-Sittah was born in 1969 in Kuwait to a Palestinian father and a Lebanese mother. His father's family was expelled from their home during 1948 Arab–Israeli War and became refugees in the Gaza Strip, later moving to Kuwait. They proceeded to move to Egypt and the UK in the late 1980s.[4][5]

In 1988, Abu-Sittah followed in his father's footsteps and studied medicine at Glasgow University.[5][6]

Career

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After graduating from university, Abu-Sittah began working for the National Health Service (NHS).[7]

In January 2011, Abu-Sittah joined the faculty of the American University of Beirut Hospital and moved to Beirut .[7] He also provided remote assistance for surgeons working in the Gaza Strip.[8] While in Lebanon, Abu Sitah's demonstrated his interest in Palestinian politics by writing Opinions for local papers.[9]

He worked as the director of AUB’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department from 2012 until September 2020.[6][10][11] In 2015, he also co-founded and co-directed the Conflict Medicine Program at the AUB's Global Health Institute.[10][7] In 2021, Abu-Sittah worked as a lecturer at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London.[10]

Abu-Sittah first visited the Gaza Strip as a medical student during the First Intifada in 1989.[6][10] He was inspired to focus on conflict medicine by Ang Swee Chai.[10] Abu-Sittah traveled to Gaza as a member of Medical Aid for Palestinians to provide medical assistance during the Second Intifada, the 2008-2009 Gaza War, the 2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, the 2014 Gaza War, and the 2018–2019 Gaza border protests.[11][12] He has also worked in war zones in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.[6][7]

Abu-Sittah was an editor and co-author of the book Reconstructing the War Injured Patient (2017) and The War Injured Child: From Point of Injury Treatment Through Management and Continuum of Care (2023).[10] He is a trustee of the Institute for Palestine Studies.[13] In April 2024, he was elected the Rector of the University of Glasgow.[14]

Israel-Hamas war

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Abu-Sittah returned to Gaza on 9 October 2023 at the onset of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. He told Vogue Arabia that he provided medical assistance with Doctors Without Borders at Al-Shifa Hospital and Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, operating on victims of the conflict.[15][6][16][17] He witnessed the war and spoke to news outlets and posted updates on Twitter about the hospital and some of the patients during the Al-Shifa Hospital siege.[17][18][19]

On 16 October 2023, Abu-Sittah's family in London was questioned by the Metropolitan Police about his work in Gaza.[6][20][5]

On 18 November, after 43 days, Abu-Sittah returned to London, where he gave a press conference discussing his experiences.[15][21] During the press conference, he gave testimony that he treated patients suffering from white phosphorus burns, which the Israeli army denies using.[21]

Abu-Sittah worked with Scotland Yard to share his testimony of the situation in Gaza.[15][20][5] In January 2024, he travelled to the Hague to meet with International Criminal Court (ICC) investigators.[22]

Abu-Sittah was elected Rector of his alma mater, the University of Glasgow, on 26 March 2024, winning 80% of the vote.[23][24]

The Times reported that Abu-Sittah had compared Israeli leadership to "the psychosis of the Germans in the 30s and the 40s.", further characterising the supporting western powers, including the US, UK, Germany, France, Australia and Canada, as being "the axis of genocide".[25]

In April 2024, Abu-Sittah was denied entry to Germany while attempting to travel there for a Pro-Palestinian event. Shortly thereafter, the event was shut down by Berlin police who said they cancelled it because Salman Abu Sitta, Ghassan Abu Sittah's uncle and one of the event speakers, was "forbidden from being politically active in Germany." Organizers of the event had, according to their statements after the cancellation, not been informed of this ban.[26]

On 4 May 2024, he was scheduled to speak to the French Senate about the medical crisis in Gaza at the invitation of a Green Senator but was denied entry to France, based on a Schengen-Area-wide entry ban against him put in place by German authorities.[27][28] Lawyers of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians stated that they would look into challenging the ban with the help of German lawyers.[28] Subsequently the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) announced the travel restriction was overturned.[29]

Personal life

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As of 2023, he lives in East London with his wife and three sons.[30]

Bibliography

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  • The War Injured Child: From Point of Injury Treatment Through Management and Continuum of Care. Edited by Ghassan Soleiman Abu-Sittah, Jamal J. Hoballah. 1st ed. 2023. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2023. ISBN 978-3031286124
  • Reconstructing the war Injured patient. Edited by Ghassan Soleiman Abu-Sittah, Jamal J. Hoballah, Joseph Bakhach. Cham, Switzerland : Springer, 2017. ISBN 978-3319568874

References

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  1. ^ Abu-Sittah, Ghassan Soleiman (August 11, 2017). Reconstructing the War Injured Patient. Springer. ISBN 978-3319568850.
  2. ^ "About: Advisors". United Palestinian Appeal. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  3. ^ Howeidy, Amira (October 24, 2023). "'Gaza war does not compare to Syria or Yemen'". Ahram Online. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  4. ^ "Ghassan S. Abu-Sittah". American University of Beirut. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Lampert, Nicole (2023-12-02). "Can the media trust this doctor in Gaza?". UnHerd. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Grierson, Jamie; Sherwood, Harriet (2023-10-17). "Surgeon treating patients in Gaza says police in London 'harassed' his family". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  7. ^ a b c d Woodward, Michelle (2020-12-15). "The Evolution of Conflict Medicine in the Middle East - An Interview with Ghassan Abu Sittah". MERIP. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  8. ^ "In Gaza, hand surgery gets remote assistance from Beirut". Reuters. 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  9. ^ Abu-Sittah, Ghassan (2018-03-08). "The Palestinian people, the Authority, and the moment of truth". Al Akbar (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Halawa, Ahmed (2021-07-26). "Ghassan Abu-Sittah: A War-Zone Surgeon Sets Up a Curriculum for Conflict Medicine". Al-Fanar Media. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  11. ^ a b Wedeman, Ben (2018-05-18). "He's treated thousands. The surgeon who keeps returning to Gaza". CNN. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  12. ^ Issa, Perla (2018-08-01). "INTERVIEW WITH DR. GHASSAN ABU SITTA"There Is No International Community"". Journal of Palestine Studies. 47 (4): 46–56. doi:10.1525/jps.2018.47.4.46. ISSN 0377-919X. S2CID 158850801.
  13. ^ "Trustee, Senior Fellow: Ghassan Abu-Sittah". Institute for Palestine Studies. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  14. ^ "University of Glasgow - University of Glasgow Rectorial Election 2024". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  15. ^ a b c Sebouai, Lilia (2023-11-27). "'I performed six amputations in one night': London doctor recalls war horrors after 43 days in Gaza". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  16. ^ Ashraf, Benjamin (2023-10-25). "Until the final breath: Ghassan Abu-Sittah's oath to Gaza". The New Arab. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  17. ^ a b "5 Doctors and Journalists Playing Vital Roles in Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis". Vogue Arabia. 2023-10-30. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  18. ^ Dagres, Holly (2023-10-12). "Gaza under siege: A doctor recounts the humanitarian cost of war". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  19. ^ "Gaza hospitals running out of supplies for wounded as Israel's bombardment goes on". The Independent. 2023-10-10. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  20. ^ a b "Met Police question London family of doctor in Gaza". BBC News. 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  21. ^ a b Abdul, Geneva (2023-11-27). "London surgeon says he saw 'massacre unfold' while working in Gaza hospitals". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  22. ^ AFP (8 January 2024). "UK-Palestinian surgeon fights for 'justice' after Gaza return". France24. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  23. ^ McKay, Gabriel (26 March 2024). "Gaza war surgeon elected rector of University of Glasgow". The Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  24. ^ "University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - MyGlasgow Students - University of Glasgow Rector".
  25. ^ Drury, Paul (2024-04-19). "Glasgow University distances itself from new rector's views". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  26. ^ Morris, Loveday (April 12, 2024). "Germany bars doctor who worked in Gaza, shuts down Palestinian conference". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 13, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  27. ^ Barthe, Benjamin (4 May 2024). "Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu-Sittah denied entry into France". Le Monde. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  28. ^ a b Abdul, Geneva; Willsher, Kim (2024-05-04). "UK surgeon who described Gaza 'massacre' denied entry to France". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  29. ^ Staff, The New Arab (May 15, 2024). "Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah travel ban overturned". The New Arab.
  30. ^ Dadouch, Sarah (15 December 2023). "A doctor went to Gaza to help. What he saw there still haunts him". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
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Academic offices
Preceded by Rector of the University of Glasgow
2024–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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