Palestinian healthcare system faces systematic destruction as Israeli Medical Association remains silent amid documented violations of medical ethics and international humanitarian law.
Hundreds of doctors gathered outside the World Medical Association (WMA) summit in Rotterdam, Netherlands, calling for the immediate suspension of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) from the global organization.
On Saturday, 81 healthcare workers removed their scrubs and hung them in a line facing the WMA assembly, each bearing the name of a Palestinian healthcare worker currently detained by Israeli forces.
![Empty scrubs containing names of detained Palestinian healthcare workers hang outside the WMA summit [Courtesy of IMA OUT! campaign]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==)
The demonstrators, representing the IMA Out! coalition, stated that the IMA’s continued membership in the WMA constitutes a violation of nearly every ethical principle outlined in the organization’s Code of Medical Ethics.
“These scrubs should not be empty. Our colleagues belong with their patients, not in Israeli prisons. Today, we placed their names at the WMA’s doorstep,” said Mejrem Ahmetaj, a general practitioner and member of IMA Out!.
Since October 2023, Israel’s military operations in Gaza have resulted in over 1,700 deaths among Palestinian healthcare workers and the destruction of nearly all hospitals and healthcare facilities in the enclave.
The campaign criticized the IMA for failing to condemn the systematic destruction of Palestinian healthcare infrastructure and for maintaining silence during the ongoing crisis.
“The IMA is not a bystander. It defends these attacks and blocks international condemnation while Palestinian healthcare is being destroyed. That is not medical neutrality. That is complicity,” added Ahmetaj.
At a meeting during the WMA summit, international physicians, medical leaders, and human rights activists addressed the destruction of Palestinian healthcare and the responsibility of the global medical community.
“Our Palestinian colleagues are being killed and imprisoned, subjected to starvation and torture. Their hospitals have been destroyed, and patients are either killed or forced to flee. The IMA has done nothing to address these war crimes against healthcare workers, patients, and institutions,” said Jonathan Fluxman on behalf of IMA OUT!.
“Thirty years of dialogue with the IMA have failed to produce accountability. It is time for national medical associations and the WMA to take decisive action. Disband ties with the IMA and suspend its membership immediately,” he added.
The campaign delivered a petition, signed by over 6,500 healthcare workers worldwide, demanding the IMA’s suspension and accountability for Israeli doctors’ involvement in the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees.
Among those detained is Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, head of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, whose unlawful imprisonment has drawn international condemnation. He was briefly held at the Sde Teiman detention facility, where he reportedly faced torture and medical neglect. Protests in Rotterdam featured placards demanding his release.
Dr. Abu Safia’s son, Elyas, addressed the gathering, stating, “My father and all Palestinian detainees must receive care in accordance with medical ethics. Doctors must uphold the Hippocratic oath, ensuring care is provided without discrimination.”