TL/DR –
Hundreds of doctors protested outside the World Medical Association (WMA) summit, demanding the suspension of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) due to alleged breaches of the WMA’s Code of Medical Ethics. The protestors, part of the IMA Out! coalition, accuse the IMA of remaining silent and blocking international condemnation as Palestinian healthcare is systematically destroyed following Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023 that has resulted in the death of over 1,700 Palestinian healthcare workers. The IMA Out! campaign also delivered a petition calling for the IMA’s suspension, signed by more than 6,500 health workers worldwide, and demanding accountability for Israeli doctors’ alleged involvement in starvation, torture, and medical neglect of Palestinian prisoners.
Physician’s Protest Against The Israeli Medical Association’s Silence on Palestinian Healthcare Destruction
Doctors from around the globe have gathered outside the World Medical Association (WMA) summit in the Netherlands, demanding the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) be suspended from the physician’s group due to its silence on the destruction of Palestinian healthcare.
This group of 81 healthcare professionals symbolically removed their scrubs bearing the names of Palestinian healthcare workers unlawfully detained by Israel, placing them visibly at the WMA assembly in Rotterdam. This act is part of the campaign organized by the IMA Out! coalition protesting against the IMA’s continued membership in the WMA.
The protest is a result of the IMA’s alleged complicity in ignoring the systematic destruction of Palestinian healthcare. “These scrubs should not be empty. Our colleagues belong with their patients, not in Israeli prisons”, says Mejrem Ahmetaj, a general practitioner and member of IMA Out!.
Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has claimed the lives of over 1,700 Palestinian healthcare workers and destroyed almost all hospitals and healthcare facilities in the area. The IMA Out! campaign accuses the IMA of defending these attacks and blocking international condemnation.
At a meeting during the WMA summit, international doctors, medical leaders, and human rights activists discussed the destruction of Palestinian healthcare and the responsibility of the global medical community. They demand accountability from Israeli doctors for the starvation, torture, and medical neglect of Palestinian prisoners.
The IMA Out! campaign delivered a petition calling for the IMA’s suspension, signed by more than 6,500 health workers worldwide. Among those detained by Israel is Dr Hussam Abu Safia, head of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital. His illegal detention has sparked an international outcry.
Abu Safia’s son Elyas addressed the meeting organized by the campaign, stating, “My father and all Palestinian detainees must be treated in accordance with medical ethics, and doctors must abide by the Hippocratic oath they have taken. Care cannot be given based on whose life is deemed worthy.”
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