Israel: Doctors refusing to force treatment on Palestinian hunger strikers must find their own replacement

‘Doctors who refuse to force treatment on hunger striking Palestinian security prisoners whose lives are in danger must find another physician willing to treat the patients, the Health Ministry ordered.
Over 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons, mostly Fatah members led by Marwan Barghouti, began a hunger strike on April 17,
demanding additional privileges, and most are still continuing with their strike.
In a letter distributed to Israeli hospitals on Wednesday, the Health Ministry refreshed the regulations and procedures concerning hunger strikers as part of the preparations for treating the striking prisoners, hundreds of whom are still not eating.
A new instruction was added at the end of the letter, saying doctors who think that the patient requires treatment but are unwilling to carry it out against the patient’s will – even if the Israel Medical Association has decided that the doctor is allowed to administer such treatment – must immediately transfer the patient to another doctor, who is at least as qualified, and who is willing to carry out the treatment. The doctor must then immediately inform their direct professional supervisor and the hospital management, the letter said.’
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