Full Breakdown
Doctors Demand WMA Suspend Israeli Medical Association
By Drooid · · How we work
Protest at the WMA General Assembly
During the World Medical Association (WMA) General Assembly in Rotterdam, hundreds of physicians displayed a line of empty scrubs, each bearing the name of a Palestinian health worker held in Israeli detention. The demonstration was organised by the IMA Out! coalition, which also delivered a petition signed by roughly 6,500 health-care professionals calling for the suspension of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) from the WMA.
Background & Context
Since the Hamas-led attacks of October 2023, the Israeli military’s campaign in Gaza has resulted in the destruction of most hospitals and the killing of an estimated 1,700 Palestinian health workers, with hundreds more detained without charge. Campaigners argue that the IMA has remained silent and, by extension, complicit in violations of medical neutrality.
Official Statements & Responses
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) urged the WMA to launch “swift, transparent, and impartial investigations” into attacks on health facilities and to demand the release of detained clinicians. Campaign leaders also cited the precedent set by national bodies such as the South African, British, and Turkish medical associations, which have cut ties with the IMA.
Verbatim Quotes
- “These scrubs should not be empty. Our colleagues belong with their patients, not in Israeli prisons. Today, we literally placed their names at the WMA’s doorstep,” — Mejrem Ahmetaj, a general practitioner and member of IMA Out!
- “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,” — Ahmetaj. At
- “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.” — Elyas
- “Thirty years of WMA dialogue with the IMA has done nothing but give the IMA a sense of impunity. Why should they change?” — Jonathan Fluxman, a British Medical Association member and retired doctor
- “He continues to endure prolonged solitary confinement, severe weight loss, and untreated pre-existing conditions; an international petition for his release has drawn signatories from 41 countries,” — Dr. Javid Abdelmoneim
Data & Statistics
- Petition signatures: ? 6,500 health workers worldwide.
- Reported Palestinian health-worker deaths: ? 1,700.
- Detentions without charge: hundreds, including Dr. Hussam Abu Safia (held > 18 months), Dr. Mazen Al-Rantisi (arrested June 2026), and Dr. Mohammed Hassan Ali Obeid (detained > 600 days).
The coordinated protest and accompanying petition represent a concerted effort by the international medical community to hold the IMA accountable for alleged breaches of the WMA’s Code of Medical Ethics.