Poor response from the Israeli Medical Association [expulsion of the World Medical Association]. ENG ESP

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Correspondence
Volume 408, Issue 10555p604August 15, 2026
Poor response from the Israeli Medical Association [expulsion of the World Medical Association]
Wim De Ceukelairea Send email to wim.deceukelaire@proton.me
Affiliations & Notes

I read with interest the World Report1 covering the campaign urging the World Medical Association (WMA) to suspend the Israeli Medical Association (IMA). The People's Health Movement was among the organisations that initiated this campaign.
The World Report is especially valuable for giving the IMA an opportunity to respond—a chance they have demonstrably squandered. Their defence is, in fact, self-incriminating. They allege that “the petition ignores any role of Hamas in the destruction of Gaza's health-care system, such as their deliberate strategy of hiding beneath and within hospitals and using hospitals for military command centers and ammunition storage, in violation of Article 19 of the Fourth Geneva Convention”.1
With this statement, the IMA essentially repeats the Israeli military's justification for targeting health infrastructure in Gaza—despite the lack of evidence2 and UN human rights experts “accusing Israel of deliberately attacking and starving healthcare workers, paramedics and hospitals to wipe out medical care in the besieged enclave”.3 This stance only reinforces the argument that expulsion from the WMA is urgent and necessary. The WMA, as part of the global health community, cannot tolerate an affiliate that actively justifies the deliberate targeting and killing of its colleagues.

Interests
WDC is Co-Chairperson of the People's Health Movement.
Editorial note: The Lancet Group takes a neutral position with respect to territorial claims in published text and institutional affiliations.

References
1.
Samarasekera, U
Petition calls for boycott of Israeli Medical Association
Lancet. 2026; 407, 2359
Full Text
Full Text (PDF)
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2.
UN
Security Council debates Israeli attacks on hospitals allegedly misused by Hamas, as UN rights chief urges independent probes
https://www.un.org/unispal/document/security-council-debates-israeli-attacks-on-hospitals-allegedly-misused-by-hamas-as-un-rights-chief-urges-independent-probes-press-release/
Date: Jan 3, 2025
Date accessed: June 26, 2026
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3.
UN
UN experts appalled by relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza's healthcare system
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/un-experts-appalled-relentless-israeli-attacks-gazas-healthcare-system
Date: Aug 13, 2025
Date accessed: June 26, 2026
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