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DIMONA: A Swedish journalist who caused outrage in Israel with allegations that soldiers stole organs of dead Palestinians defended his article on Monday to an often hostile audience in southern Israel.

Speaking at a media conference in this southern Israeli town and often interrupted by hecklers, Donald Bostrom admitted he had no proof beyond the allegations of the families of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army. But he said he found the claims serious enough to publish his August article, which sparked charges of “blood libel” inside the Jewish state and a diplomatic spat between Israel and Stockholm. “One conclusion is that there has to be further investigation into the allegations of Palestinian families,” he told the rowdy conference. Bostrom’s article, published in Sweden’s popular Aftonbladet tabloid, alleged Israel secretly harvested the organs of killed Palestinians, with relatives saying the returned bodies of their loved ones had suspicious scars. Israel vehemently denied the charges, with commentators saying the scars were a result of autopsies that Israeli law mandates be performed on all people killed in acts of violence.

Israel has demanded the Swedish government condemn the article that it has labelled an anti-Semitic “blood libel.” Stockholm has refused, saying that to do so would violate the country’s tradition of freedom of speech. Bostrom commended the organisers for inviting him and giving him a chance to defend h... >>>