9th August 2025: Health Workers Arrested in Palestine Action De-Proscription protest in solidarity with Gazan Health workers and to Defend International Humanitarian Law

Hils - August 9, 2025September 10, 2025

At least 12 health workers were arrested today at the massive protest in Parliament Square, involving an estimated 1000 protestors, against the proscription of the group, Palestine Action. Health workers formed a health block of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, sat behind a banner which read “Medical Duty > Terror law” and cited the Geneva Conventions¹ and UN Security Council Resolution 2286². Group members also held signs stating: “I oppose Genocide. I support Palestine Action”. Health workers were some of the first to be arrested, with eleven arrests taking place within minutes of the start of the protest.

Proscription of Palestine Action

The UK government controversially voted to proscribe Palestine action on the 3rd July³, in apparent opposition to evidence provided by both the UK intelligence and civil service who highlighted that the move would be “unprecedented”, and that the group’s actions were very likely limited to damage to property and trespass⁴. The reports, provided to the government before they proceeded with the proscription vote, also contradicted rumours circulated in the right wing press, that Palestine Action was funded by Iran, stating that the groups money was primarily raised through web-site based donations and the sale of merchandise⁴.

“Palestine Action (PA)” formed in 2020 with the stated aim of ending “Israeli Apartheid” and primarily targeted leading Israeli arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems⁵. Their (PA’s) actions have primarily involved damage to Elbit System’s factories, and to other companies, such as insurers, upon which Elbit System relies. Most recently the UK ministry of defence was also targeted amidst allegations that the UK is illegally supporting the Israeli military by refueling aircraft and sharing military intelligence⁶.

Healthcare Crisis in Gaza

The Israeli government has repeatedly targeted health workers, hospitals and civilians in breach of Article 4 of the Geneva Conventions¹ and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2286², which expressly forbid such attacks.

At least 1400 health workers have now been killed by Israel in the Gaza strip⁷. Many health practitioners have been killed while caring for patients, or, in the case of ambulance personnel, deliberately targeted while responding to emergencies⁸. Health workers have also been forcibly evacuated from their posts on threat of death⁹, including being required to abandon premature babies in their incubators to die¹⁰. Hundreds of health workers have also been illegally detained in Israel and the West Bank with credible allegations of torture¹¹ and documented cases of deaths in custody¹².

Moreover, every hospital in Gaza has been targeted by the Israeli military with many reduced to rubble and not a single facility left fully functioning¹³. The destruction of Gaza’s healthcare capacity has meant that even as Israel continues to attack and starve the Gazan civilian population, its health infrastructure is in ruins, and its personnel are diminished in number, traumatised, and suffering from the effects of the Israeli-manufactured famine¹⁴.

Health Workers Role as Eye-Witnesses to Genocide

The move by Israel to bar international journalists from reporting from the ground in Gaza¹⁵ has underlined the importance of the witness and testimony of international Health workers. On the 16th June 2025, health workers from humanitarian organisations, including MSF and Medical Aid for Palestinians, testified before the UK Foreign Affairs committee¹⁶. Their evidence highlighted the systematic and deliberate destruction of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure, mass casualties, the targeting of aid distribution points, and an urgent, unmet need for humanitarian access. MSF spoke of witnessing “patterns consistent with genocide”, accusing Israeli forces of orchestrating deprivation and destruction as part of a larger campaign, while calling for political courage and legal responsibility from the UK and EU to facilitate aid and protect civilians. Since the hearings, MSF has published a report: “This is not aid. This is orchestrated killing” (August, 2025)¹⁷ which uses eye witness evidence to describe the systematic use of violence and killing at the so called “Gaza Humanitarian foundation” aid distribution sites.

Such compelling eye witness accounts from trusted humanitarian personnel can potentially serve to increase scrutiny of the UK’s policies in the region, including arms exports, diplomatic stances, and responses to protest movements. Moreover, the humanitarian evidence directly addresses the rationale behind the activism of Palestine Action and provides context for protestors’ urgent and sometimes disruptive, calls for institutional and governmental accountability.

The government’s move to proscribe Palestine Action on July 5th, just weeks after Health Workers gave evidence to government on the moral and legal case for greater UK action to address the humanitarian consequences of Israeli aggression in Gaza, underscores a tension between the calls for accountability and action, and the tightening of restrictions on dissent. It appears the UK government is prioritising restrictive security measures at the expense of its international human rights obligations to both respect civil liberties domestically, and to uphold international humanitarian law. The medical testimony thus stands as both an urgent appeal for action, and a record against which restrictive government measures will be scrutinised, both legally and historically.

Medical Apartheid

In Gaza we are witnessing not only the indiscriminate use of force against civilians, but a policy of medical apartheid – a system designed to systematically deny a population access to healthcare and to ensure that they cannot heal. Medical apartheid manifests in the targeting of hospitals and clinics, the killing and intimidation of medical staff, the destruction of life-saving equipment, and the blockade of vital medicines and supplies.

Medical Ethical Responsibility

The protection of health workers and health institutions during conflict is a fundamental ethical tenet codified by the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols¹⁸. The muted response by segments of the UK’s professional medical community to the scale and nature of attacks on Gaza’s health sector raises significant ethical questions. While a few colleges have recently escalated their communications with the UK government on the issue¹⁹, the demands made still fall short of the required sanctions ethically necessary, and continue to read as though the Genocide in Gaza is a natural disaster as opposed to the result of Israeli military policy.

The motions relating to Gaza passed at the British Medical Association’s recent annual representative meeting²⁰ coupled with the campaign to petition UK Royal Colleges to strengthen their position on the crisis²¹, is a demonstration of the level of distress and outrage amongst UK doctors, and can be seen as a call to action to the UK medical establishment.

As articulated by Dr. Alice Clack, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and former Médecins Sans Frontières practitioner:

“As a doctor, I feel a moral duty to defend the principles of international humanitarian law which enshrine the protection and independence of health workers and health infrastructure during conflict. These fundamental moral principles, encoded in the Geneva Conventions, are being undermined not only by the actions of the Israeli government, but also by the UK government, who continue to sell arms to Israel, and by our medical institutions who are failing to call out these crimes. Our humanitarian work depends on these fundamental principles; ignoring these acts endangers us all.”

Civil Liberties and the Right to Protest

To label Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation for protesting the atrocities described has been recognised widely as a gross abuse of state power, with condemnation coming, from amongst others, the United Nations Human Rights Chief²². If protestors demanding justice and protection for health are defined as terrorists, then so too were the Suffragettes and the Greenham Common women who likewise used damage to property in the pursuit of their goals. Yet, in an incredible demonstration of hypocrisy, in the same week the proscription of Palestine Action was voted through in Parliament we saw the entire Labour cabinet show up for a suffragette photo shoot²³. As Professor Hilary Neve, GP and medical educator puts it:

“Labelling protest as terrorism is a huge threat to society. It undermines our democracy and erodes the public’s right to challenge harmful policies, campaign for positive change and hold our government accountable. Such punitive measures are an attempt to silence those brave citizens who stand up for the oppressed, the environment and against violations of human rights. As healthcare professionals, we have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with all those advocating for a more just, kinder world, recognising that many of the rights we now take for granted are fundamental to public health and were achieved through protest.”

Statements in Support

Leigh Evans, UK trained retired Emergency Nurse with extensive experience of working in the West Bank and Gaza said:

“As nurses, our medical ethics are at the core of our commitment. We cannot claim to be beneficent – or to do no harm – if we stay silent in the face of genocide, apartheid, occupation, or starvation. Living our ethics means confronting harm wherever it appears, guided by justice and compassion. Our duty to care knows no borders, no race, no politics. We are not servants of nations – we serve humanity. The integrity of our profession demands we stand against all forms of oppression and harm.

We are nurses.

We are for all people, everywhere.”

Annie Mitchell, retired clinical psychologist with the Division of Clinical Psychology for the British Psychological Society said:

“The Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists reaffirms the commitment of the psychological community to help build a better world where peace, freedom, responsibility, justice, humanity, and morality prevail. An open letter from psychologists to the Health and Care Professions Council notes the psychological toll of systemic violence, demands international attention and emphasises the ethical importance of engaging in advocacy. We are all human: our mutual health calls for loving care. Alongside colleagues from other professions, psychologists are for all people and peoples, everywhere.”

Media Folder:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kcCuxF0u1yy7_2SXilo6j8q5N_D1oRfU?usp=sharing

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/healthxr.bsky.social/post/3lvxv3lmzls2y

On X: https://x.com/DoctorsXr/status/1954171325116740004

Channel 4 news: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJDnOdfYO6o

Notes for Editors: