In the latest example of a deep-seated anti-Israel bias within the International Committee of the Red Cross, the head of the ICRC’s office in Algeria and director of the Libya subdelegation has been outed as a pro-Hamas shill.
Geneva-based, pro-Israel group U.N. Watch exposed the pro-terrorist sentiments of the ICRC official, who appears to be based in Montreal.
“Meet Haythem ‘Ethan’ Abid. He runs the International Red Cross in Montreal. His job is to be neutral. But Abid marches in ‘Free Palestine’ rallies, posts Hamas videos saying hostages love their captors and accuses Israel of ‘terrorism’ & ‘genocide.’ He says: ‘Fuck neutral s**t,’” tweeted U.N. Watch’s Hillel Neuer on April 30.
U.N. Watch found numerous questionable posts on Abid’s Facebook page, including one from Oct. 24, 2023, in which he is seen holding a large PLO flag at a protest two days earlier.
The rally was co-organized by “Montreal4Palestine,” an antisemitic group, which posted on social media on Oct. 7, the day of the Hamas massacre, an image of a bowl of candy with the words “Celebration” and “The Journey has Begun.”
Hamas members regularly hand out candy to passers-by in the Gaza Strip after a successful terrorist attack.
On Oct. 27, 2023, Abid posted a flyer on Facebook for another anti-Israel rally co-sponsored by the “Palestinian Youth Movement,” which openly supports terrorist “martyrs.”
On Nov. 14, 2023, Abid posted a Hamas propaganda video on Facebook hailing the fact that Israel had not yet defeated Hamas.
In a Facebook post the day after the Oct. 7 massacre, he posted a photo of the 2000 killing of Muhammad al-Durrah in the Gaza Strip, even though the incident was exposed years ago as a staged “Pallywood” scene, in which no one was hurt.
“Abid’s intention was clear: He was attempting to justify the killing, maiming, raping and torture of innocent civilians that took place in Israel on October 7, as merited retribution,” U.N. Watch said.
The pro-Israel group said that if there were any lingering doubts as to Abid’s contempt for the ICRC’s policy of neutrality, his Facebook post on Oct. 18 puts them to rest: “Fuck neutral shit, today being neutral is taking a side.”
Having been exposed by U.N. Watch, Abid quickly deleted his Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
U.N. Watch called for the immediate dismissal of Abid for violating ICRC’s code of conduct and values. “Humanity, impartiality, neutrality” are the values the Red Cross claims to live by, U.N. Watch noted.
The ICRC did not respond to JNS’s request for comment before publishing.
Since Oct. 7, the ICRC has come in for criticism from the Israeli premier on down, with the public consensus being that the International Committee of the Red Cross is at best a glorified taxi service (for hostages freed from Gaza) and at worst the most prominent of the consistently anti-Israel and biased so-called “humanitarian” groups.
Israelis blame the ICRC for failing to reach the hostages held by Hamas. Some 209 days into the war, the Red Cross still hasn’t managed to gain access to the remaining captives held by the terrorist group.
Israeli anger has intensified as reports emerge of the grim situation of the abductees, with reports of torture, sexual abuse, and lack of food and medical care. Israel says 133 hostages remain in Hamas’s hands, with many feared dead.
In late January, a senior Red Cross official sparked Israeli ire when he compared Israel to Hamas, saying that both parties refuse to allow visitations for prisoners.
In December, it emerged that the ICRC has been helping Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel receive “pay for slay” stipends from the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinian Media Watch revealed that Palestinian prisoners fill out forms to receive the stipends, and the Red Cross delivers the paperwork to Ramallah.
The stipends are nothing more than a financial incentive to commit murder, Israel said.