Hundreds of doctors urge World Medical Association to suspend Israel

Hundreds of doctors gathered outside the World Medical Association (WMA) summit in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, demanding the suspension of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) from the global physicians' body.

On Saturday, 81 healthcare workers took off their scrubs and hung them in a line facing the WMA assembly, each garment bearing the name of a Palestinian healthcare worker currently held in Israeli detention. The demonstration was organised by a coalition called IMA Out!, which said the Israeli association's continued membership breaches almost every principle in the WMA's Code of Medical Ethics.

A general practitioner and member of the coalition said the empty scrubs represented colleagues who should be with their patients rather than in Israeli custody, adding that the group had placed their names outside the WMA's venue.

According to the article, Israel's war on Gaza since October 2023 has killed more than 1,700 Palestinian healthcare workers and destroyed nearly all hospitals and healthcare facilities in the territory.

The campaign accused the Israeli Medical Association of staying silent as Palestinian healthcare has been systematically dismantled, with the same representative stating that the IMA defends these attacks and obstructs international condemnation, describing this as complicity rather than medical neutrality.

The coalition also noted that a meeting involving international doctors, medical leaders and human rights activists took place during the WMA summit on Thursday, addressing the destruction of Palestinian healthcare and the responsibilities of the global medical community.