RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) – Israeli doctors “absolutely refuse to cooperate” with government plans to force-feed hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners, the head of the country’s medical association said in an interview, rejecting the practice as a form of torture and a violation of medical ethics.
A bill allowing force-feeding could receive final approval in Israel’s parliament as early as Monday. The vote comes as a hunger-strike by dozens of Palestinian detainees is entering its third month. Eighty of the hunger strikers have been hospitalized.
Under the draft bill before the Knesset, a judge could sanction force-feeding if an inmate’s life is perceived to be in danger. The government, which proposed the bill, argues that a death in custody could trigger unrest in prisons or the Palestinian territories and harm Israel’s security.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon said it would also deprive detainees of a means to “threaten and blackmail the system.”
However, the Israeli Medical Association, which has 22,000 active members, is vehemently opposed.