Belgian Group Files Complaint Against Israeli Doctors at ICC

The Belgian-based anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian organization, Human Rights Foundation (HRF), has filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The organization, known for its previous complaints against IDF soldiers, is now targeting Israeli physicians and health officials. The HRF alleges that medical personnel, hospital administrators, senior officials from the Health and Defense Ministries, and leaders of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) may be complicit in the torture, abuse, and deaths of Palestinian detainees at the Sde Teiman detention facility since October 7, 2023.

The complaint, submitted under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, requests an investigation into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Among those named in the complaint are former Health Ministers Moshe Arbel and Uriel Buso, IMA Chairman Prof. Zion Hagai, IMA CEO Adv. Lea Vapner, and Dr. Yossef Wolfish, Chairman of the IMA's Ethics Bureau. The HRF claims that the Health Ministry was responsible for establishing and operating a field hospital at Sde Teiman, where medical staff were subordinate to the Military Police. The organization cites alleged Health Ministry directives from December 2023 regarding the treatment of detainees, including while they were bound and blindfolded, prohibiting medical staff from identifying themselves by name, restricting transfers to civilian hospitals, and allowing forced medical treatment.

The HRF's complaint references past reports, including an AP report detailing surgeries performed without adequate pain relief, and a letter from a doctor who worked at Sde Teiman, reporting that two detainees required leg amputations due to injuries from prolonged handcuffing. The organization also accuses the IMA leadership of providing professional and ethical backing for the events at Sde Teiman, citing a joint letter published in April 2024 by Prof. Hagai, Dr. Wolfish, and Malka Borochov in the American Journal of Bioethics, which stated that detainees were receiving appropriate medical care. The HRF notes that Dr. Wolfish visited the facility as part of an ethics delegation and that while isolated ethical violations might have occurred, doctors were fulfilling their professional duties.

The timing of the complaint coincides with the General Assembly of the World Medical Association (WMA) in Rotterdam, where Israeli Medical Association representatives are present. HRF CEO Diab Abu Jajah criticized the WMA for hosting an organization he claims has provided institutional backing for torture. The IMA has previously stated that over 5,000 doctors from 46 countries signed a petition against attempts to remove it from the WMA, calling such efforts political. The HRF, however, indicates that this is just the beginning of its actions, threatening to file personal complaints against Israeli doctors and medical personnel with dual foreign citizenship in their respective countries, expanding its legal efforts beyond the military to the healthcare sector.