“I will not use my medical knowledge to violate human rights and civil liberties, even under threat.” This is a line in The Physician’s Pledge adopted by the World Medical Association in 1948, which guides the work of doctors around the globe.

Unfortunately, as the practice of torture persists across the world, too often medical workers are at risk of becoming complicit. One country that has come under the spotlight recently regarding medical complicity in torture has been Israel.

For years, human rights organisations have reported “widespread and systematic” use of torture by Israeli security forces and prison authorities. The Israeli NGO Public Committee against Torture (PCATI) has filed over 1,400 torture complaints against Israeli authorities since 2001.

Since October 7, allegations of ill-treatment and torture of Palestinians in Israeli detention have sharply increased. According to media reports, at least 40 Palestinians have died in Israeli military detention and 16 in prison over the past eight months. These numbers represent a substantial increase when compared to the average of four deaths per year from 1967 to 2019.

Medical complicity in deaths or ill-treatment of detainees would leave a dark stain on the medical profession in Israel. We therefore call on the Israeli authorities and medical institutions and associations to investigate any allegations of complicity of doctors and other medical staff in torture and ill-treatment.

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