BMA fails to condemn Iranian attacks on Israeli hospitals

Summary

BMA fails to condemn Iranian attacks on Israeli hospitals The British Medical Association (BMA) has been criticised for failing to condemn Iranian attacks on hospitals in Israel while deploring the “escalating conflict” in the Middle East. The Tories have attacked the union after it issued a statement about the war that failed to acknowledge Tehran’s ballistic missiles and drone attacks on civilian targets, including hospitals, in the Gulf states and Israel. Since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, Tehran has launched thousands of drones and missiles towards Israel as well as neighbouring Gulf states. Hospitals in Israel have been forced to move inpatients to protected underground facilities to mitigate threats caused by falling shrapnel as well as strikes on medical facilities. Last week, shrapnel from an Iranian missile struck the Palestinian Al Makassed hospital in East Jerusalem, temporarily closing the facility. Meanwhile, Iran has also targeted the airports, luxury hotels and merchant ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. In its statement, issued on March 6, the BMA said: “Reports from the World Health Organization which state that it has verified there have been 13 attacks on health care in Iran, and one in Lebanon, are deeply concerning. “Health workers must be able to carry out their duties without fear of violence, intimidation, or attack, and medical facilities must remain safe places of care. “The BMA unequivocally calls upon all parties to respect the fundamental principle of medical neutrality and to acknowledge the status of doctors and healthcare systems as protected under international humanitarian law.” ‘Statements must be balanced and factual’ Stuart Andrew, the shadow health secretary, said: “The BMA exists to champion patients and doctors, not to weigh in on complex geopolitical conflicts far beyond its remit. “When a professional medical body strays into international politics, it risks undermining its credibility and dividing the very members it is meant to represent. “If statements are going to be made about global conflicts, they must at the very least be balanced and factual. “Failing to acknowledge the wider context, including the role of Iran in launching attacks across the region, including towards countries such as Bahrain and the UAE raises serious questions about judgment and consistency. “The BMA’s priority should remain clear: supporting doctors, strengthening healthcare, and protecting patients in the UK.” Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told The Telegraph: “I am very surprised that the BMA have only commented about hospitals in Iran while making no mention of the hospitals under attack by Iranian missiles in the UAE and other Gulf states as well as in Israel.” A spokesman for the Israeli embassy said: “While we share the concern expressed by the British Medical Association regarding attacks on healthcare facilities, it is troubling that the statement does not acknowledge that Israeli hospitals and medical infrastructure have also been targeted during the current escalation. “Israeli civilians, patients, and healthcare workers are operating under sustained missile threat. “Unlike Iran and its proxies, which systematically target civilian infrastructure, Israel directs its military operations toward legitimate military targets. “At the same time, Iranian-backed groups and terrorist organisations have repeatedly used civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, as launch sites for attacks, deliberately endangering civilians and undermining the principle of medical neutrality. “It is also important to recognise the extraordinary conditions under which Israeli healthcare workers are currently operating. “In many cases, medical teams have had to move services underground, working from bunkers and underground car parks that have been rapidly converted into hospital wards in order to continue treating patients while under missile threat. “Medical neutrality and the protection of healthcare workers must apply equally to all sides.” Mass resignation of Jewish doctors This is not the first time the BMA has chosen to weigh in on international affairs. Some 45 motions – representing 10 per cent of all things discussed – at last year’s conference were related to either Zionism or Gaza, provoking a mass resignation of Jewish doctors from the union. One Jewish doctor said: “The BMA has shown again how it is sympathetic to hardline Islamist regimes like that in Iran. “They ignore indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets in peaceful Gulf states but carried out by the Islamic State. “They failed to sympathise with suffering of the Jews, Druze, Bedouin and other Arabs living in Israel when their hospitals are attacked by Islamists and terrorists from Iran or Lebanon. “They ignore the death and injury when Islamists and other terrorists are responsible for attacking their own populations in Iran and Gaza. “Moderate peaceful doctors see their membership subscriptions used to support divisive campaigns that alienate the British Jewish community. The BMA look and feel more and more anti-Semitic with each new statement or action. “What message are the BMA sending to patients and their carers? Doctors who truly care for equality, diversity, and inclusivity should seriously consider resigning their membership.” A BMA spokesman said: “The BMA has a long and established history of speaking out when healthcare is under attack in conflict zones around the world, as we have done regularly in recent years, such as in Ukraine, Myanmar and Sudan, as well as in the Middle East. “Last year we published a landmark report on this very topic: ‘Medicine under attack: the increasing assault on healthcare in conflict zones’. “It should be uncontroversial for doctors in the UK to be concerned when their colleagues, health systems and patients in countries around the world are threatened in war. “In fast-moving situations, where accounts can take time to verify, it is important look to reliable sources such as the World Health Organisation, as clearly referenced in our statement last week. “This statement also clearly called on all parties to respect the fundamental principle of medical neutrality.”