Doctors in Rotterdam demand Israeli medical association's suspension

Healthcare workers protested outside the World Medical Association's general assembly in Rotterdam on October 10, demanding the suspension of the Israeli Medical Association.

Organising coalition IMA Out! said it delivered a petition bearing more than 6,500 healthcare workers' signatures. It said 81 participants hung medical scrubs carrying the names of Palestinian colleagues detained in Israel.

The campaign accuses the Israeli association of breaching medical ethics and failing to respond adequately to the destruction of healthcare in Gaza. These are the campaigners' allegations. Protesters also called for the release of Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hussam Abu Safia.

The WMA separately announced its Rotterdam Declaration on the Protection of Medical Neutrality. It calls for impartial patient care and protection of health workers, including releasing those detained solely for providing care. That announcement does not declare the Israeli association's membership suspended.