British-Palestinian NHS doctor, Rahmeh Aladwan, has been suspended for 15 months pending an investigation over anti-Israel social media posts, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) in the UK has ruled.
The ruling comes as the General Medical Council (GMC) is also investigating Dr Rahmeh Aladwan, 31, over posts and comments made across various online platforms which sparked complaints of “antisemitism,” including from the Jewish Medical Association UK and the Campaign Against Antisemitism.
Dr Aladwan, a trainee trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, was also alleged to have expressed support for “violent action and terrorist organisations.”
The GMC’s counsel Emma Gilsenan told the MPTS hearing that Aladwan’s posts included content that allegedly “justifies terrorism, denies sexual violence, includes antisemitic conspiracy theories, misuses Holocaust and Nazi imagery and expresses support for proscribed groups and terrorist acts.”
Gilsenan further alleged that Aladwan had expressed explicit support for proscribed organisations such as Hamas and direct action group Palestine Action.
Gilsenan submitted that it was “unconscionable to consider that Dr Aladwan should be permitted to continue to practise.”
‘Legitimate speech’
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Dr Aldawan has strongly denies all the allegations against her and has argued she is engaging in legitimate criticism of Israel and Zionism – the political ideology responsible for the ethnic cleansing and occupation of the Palestinian people.
Aladwan’s lawyer, Kevin Saunders, submitted that the posts “fell into the category of legitimate political speech and debate” and that she denied making racist or hate speech.
He added that there was “no information to suggest that Dr Aladwan presents a real and immediate risk to patient safety.”
Back in September, the MPTS ruled that it would not impose interim conditions on Aladwan’s registration, saying it did not believe the complaints against her were “sufficient to establish that there may be a real risk to patients.”
However, on Wednesday, the MPTS said Dr Aladwan’s posts “may impact on patient confidence” in both her and the profession, while patients could be “discouraged” from seeking treatment from her.
The interim suspension of 15 months on Aladwan, 31, took effect from Wednesday and will be reviewed within six months.
The GMC and MPTS assess the conduct of doctors and decide whether sanctions, including being struck off the medical register, are necessary. The MPTS interim orders tribunals decide if a doctor’s practice should be restricted while a GMC investigation takes place, but do not reach their own conclusions.
Genocide of Palestinians
Responding to the development on X, Aladwan condemned the Israel lobby in the UK, who she claims is behind the complaints against her.
“Thank God for everything. Let this decision stand as the definitive proof that there is no independent British medical regulation. The ‘Israeli’ and Jewish lobby decide who can and cannot practise medicine in Britain. This is not an end. It is the beginning of a far greater battle for the integrity of our institutions. My faith remains steadfast. My gratitude to every single person who has supported our just cause is boundless. What an honour it is to sacrifice for our people. Free Palestine and Britain from jewish supremacy.”
She also posted a picture of a verse from the Quran: “And ˹remember, O Prophet,˺ when the disbelievers conspired to capture, kill, or exile you. They planned, but Allah also planned. And Allah is the best of planners.”
The death toll in Gaza since the start of Israel’s genocidal war has risen to 69,785, and 170,965 others have been wounded, according to the latest figures from the Palestinian health ministry released on Wednesday.
The ministry said that scores of victims remain under the rubble and on the roads, as ambulance and civil defence teams are still unable to reach them.
At least 357 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire was declared on 10 October, the ministry said in a statement on Telegram. During the same period, 596 bodies have been recovered.
Israel’s war on Gaza has been labelled the most well documented genocide in human history with horrifying images and videos of civilians being killed, tortured or suffering going viral daily for the past two years.
Most of Israel’s victims are women and children. The graphic crimes have sparked huge global outrage and traumatised an entire generation, particularly Muslims and Palestinian onlookers.
