Israel condemns Swedish report on IDF

Jerusalem, Aug.19 (ANI): Israel's Foreign Ministry has rejected a story in Sweden's largest circulation daily, Aftonbladet, that accused the Israel Defence Force (IDF) of abducting Palestinians to steal their organs, saying this was a grotesque throwback to the blood libels of the Middle Ages.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor as characterizing the story as "racist hysteria at its worst."

"No one should tolerate such a demonizing piece of medieval blood libel that surely encourages hate crimes against Jews. This is a shame to freedom of expression, and all Swedes should reject it unconditionally," Palmor added.

Israel's embassy in Stockholm was expected to issue a sharp denunciation.

In the story, headlined "They plunder the organs of our sons," and accompanied by a gruesome photograph, Palestinians are quoted as saying IDF soldiers kidnapped their sons and stole organs. aaretz quoted Donald Bostrom as writing the following:

"'Our sons are used as involuntary organ donors,' relatives of Khaled from Nablus said to me, as did the mother of Raed from Jenin, as well as the uncles of Machmod and Nafes from Gaza, who all had disappeared for a few days and returned by night, dead and autopsied."

The article makes reference to the recent arrests in New Jersey of several US Jews, including rabbis, for a number of alleged crimes, including brokering the sale of organs for transplant.

The story also cites allegations of similar instances of organ-snatching in 1992, during the first INTIFADA. (ANI)