Petition with 6,500 signatures demands expulsion of Israeli Medical Association from World Medical Association

PARIS, Nov. 05 (YPA) – A petition signed by 6,500 healthcare professionals has called on the World Medical Association (WMA) to terminate the membership of the Israeli Medical Association, following accusations that doctors participated in the torture of Palestinian prisoners and were involved in abuses within the Gaza Strip.

The WMA is facing mounting criticism for refusing to suspend or terminate the membership of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA), despite documented reports of doctors’ involvement in the torture of prisoners and abuses in Gaza.

The “Expel the Israeli Medical Association” campaign presented the petition during the WMA’s General Assembly meeting last month in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The meeting was preceded by protests in which hundreds of doctors participated, some carrying shrouds inscribed with the names of 18,000 Palestinian children killed during the war on Gaza.

The protesters accused the association of failing to adhere to the ethical standards of the profession, failing to take action against doctors suspected of overseeing the torture of prisoners, and failing to investigate reports concerning the killing of Palestinian healthcare workers inside Israeli prisons.