Eighty-one healthcare workers hung empty scrubs outside the World Medical Association’s assembly in Rotterdam on Saturday, with each garment carrying the name of a Palestinian healthcare worker detained by Israel. The demonstration demanded that the Israeli Medical Association be suspended from the WMA and called for the release and protection of Palestinian medical personnel.
The IMA Out coalition said it delivered a petition signed by nearly 6,500 health workers worldwide. Protesters accused the Israeli association of failing to oppose the destruction of Palestinian healthcare and of supporting positions that have blocked condemnation within the WMA. The campaign also sought accountability for alleged starvation, torture and medical neglect involving Palestinian prisoners.
The protest followed an international meeting in Rotterdam on Thursday involving Palestinian and foreign doctors, medical leaders and human-rights activists. Hussam Abu Safia, the detained head of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, was a central focus.
The declaration condemns attacks and interference against healthcare, defines arbitrary detention and mistreatment of medical personnel as violations of medical neutrality, calls for the immediate release of medical workers detained solely for providing care, and instructs medical associations to oppose violations even when committed by their own governments. It does not name Israel or announce the suspension sought by the protesters, leaving the campaign’s central demand unresolved.