Healthcare workers protest at WMA summit, demand suspension of Israeli Medical Association
Organised by the IMA OUT! campaign, the demonstration called on the WMA to suspend the Israeli body, accusing it of violating principles set out in the WMA Code of Medical Ethics
Hundreds of healthcare workers gathered outside the World Medical Association (WMA) summit in Rotterdam, demanding the suspension of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) over its alleged violations of medical ethics and its response to the destruction of Palestinian healthcare.
Organised by the IMA OUT! campaign, the demonstration called on the WMA to suspend the Israeli body, accusing it of violating principles set out in the WMA Code of Medical Ethics and remaining silent amid the destruction of healthcare services in Gaza, says Al Jazeera.
Campaign organisers submitted a petition signed by more than 6,500 healthcare workers worldwide calling for the IMA's immediate suspension from the WMA.
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In a symbolic demonstration outside the assembly, 81 healthcare workers removed their scrubs and hung them on a line, with each pair displaying the name of an imprisoned Palestinian colleague.
Protesters also demanded the release of all detained Palestinian healthcare workers, highlighting the case of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, head of Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital. Abu Safia has been subjected to unlawful detention, torture and medical neglect, according to campaigners.
Mejrem Ahmetaj, a general practitioner and member of IMA OUT!, said the IMA actively defended attacks on medical facilities and blocked international condemnation, arguing that its position amounted to complicity rather than medical neutrality.
Jonathan Fluxman, an IMA OUT! representative, said three decades of dialogue between the WMA and the IMA had fostered impunity. He called on national medical associations to break ties with the Israeli body and suspend it immediately.
Activists also called for accountability over the alleged complicity of Israeli doctors in the starvation, torture and medical neglect of Palestinian prisoners.
Elyas Abu Safia, the son of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, addressed a meeting during the summit, appealing to international doctors to uphold the Hippocratic oath and medical ethics without discriminating over whose life was considered worthy.
The demonstration comes amid extensive damage to Gaza's healthcare infrastructure since October 2023. More than 1,700 Palestinian healthcare workers have been killed during that period, while nearly all hospitals and healthcare facilities across the enclave have been destroyed, according to the information provided by campaigners.
