The peer-reviewed journal PLoS One, published by the San Francisco-based Public Library of Science, recently ran an article about “rebuilding Gaza’s health system.” One of the authors is a Hamas official.
Youssef Abu al-Rish, deputy health minister in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, penned the “qualitative study of healthcare workers’ experiences and lessons learned from responding to mass casualty incidents (2018-2021)” with colleagues from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom and University Hospital of North Norway in Tromso.
Al-Rish is designated the 10 of spades in the set of playing cards of Hamas officials. (JNS sought comment from PLoS One and from the U.S. Justice and Health and Human Services Departments.)
The article refers to “ongoing genocide” in Gaza, and the authors, including the Hamas official, declared that they have “no competing interests.”
Dr. Yael Halaas, president and founder of the American Jewish Medical Association, told JNS that “this is yet another example of biased articles weaving in slanted political propaganda that have been published in ‘scholarly’ scientific journals.”
“We have seen a disturbing pattern in peer-reviewed academic journals: material that is not grounded in rigorous science, that lacks any balanced or critical perspective and that undermines the integrity of the scholarly process,” Halaas said. “What is presented as ‘peer reviewed’ too often reflects ideological bias rather than credible scientific inquiry.”
Hamas has a “well-documented” habit of using medical sites, which many journal articles neglect to mention, according to Halaas.
“The militarization of hospitals and ambulances destroys the sanctity of these spaces. The hoarding of critical civilian aid and supplies by Hamas should be mentioned in this article,” she told JNS. “Both are major determinants in the health of the Palestinian people. These biased articles never address this sad reality.”
“Academic publishing has been hijacked, and it’s frightening to witness this occur in science and medicine, where objectivity and integrity should be paramount,” she added.
