The controversial actions of Doctors Without Borders

The organization blatantly ignores the fact that Gaza was controlled by Hamas, with UNRWA and MSF itself operating there. 

By DAVID BEN-BASAT NOVEMBER 16, 2024 17:50

A PERSON affiliated with Doctors Without Borders holds a sign during a vigil to honor colleagues and others killed during the Israel-Hamas War, outside the UN’s headquarters in New York City, last December. ‘What siege are they talking about?’ asks the writer. (photo credit: JEENAH MOON/REUTERS)

Not long ago, I attended a lecture by an Israeli doctor, a member of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders. Along with an interesting report on MSF’s commendable medical aid to developing countries, a sharp, unfocused critique began to emerge, targeting Israel’s actions in the “occupied territories” and its so-called “inhuman treatment” of Palestinians.

Let me clarify: criticism is, of course, a positive and essential aspect of any democratic society. But when criticism devolves into defamation and distortion of facts to advance a political agenda that seeks to tarnish Israel, it becomes unacceptable. Diplomats and staff members present protested, and some even left the hall, causing the lecture to end prematurely.

On October 1, a statement by MSF’s Israeli branch appeared on the organization’s website. I selected several quotes and statements that, while some fall under legitimate expression, others read as if they were written by our enemies. Here’s how they put it: “Together with 17 health and human rights organizations, we issued a joint statement outlining a series of demands and principles to ensure Palestinians’ right to health. The statement emphasizes that ‘health services affecting residents do not exist in a vacuum and will continue to be impacted as long as the military occupation and siege persist.’” MSF asserts that, even before the outbreak of the current conflict, Gaza’s healthcare system was on the brink of collapse after years of occupation.

The organization blatantly ignores the fact that Gaza was controlled by Hamas, with UNRWA and MSF itself operating there. What siege are they talking about? The border crossings to Egyptian Rafah were completely open for weapons, vehicles, missiles, and medical supplies, and Israel supplied Gaza, effectively Hamas, with electricity and water.

The organization’s spokesperson, in a self-styled “pursuit of justice,” makes additional provocative claims: “The current war deliberately targets medical staff in Gaza, and there has been destruction to medical infrastructure and resources, leading to unprecedented devastation.” The spokesperson demands a ceasefire in line with the latest advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Judges arrive at the International Court of Justice at the start of a hearing where South Africa requests new emergency measures over Israel's attacks on Rafah, as part of an ongoing case South Africa filed at the ICJ in December last year, The Hague, Netherlands May 17, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/YVES HERMAN)

“This massive and ongoing civilian impact violates medical neutrality and international humanitarian law,” MSF continues. The organization’s leadership, lacking basic integrity, claims that Israel is disregarding the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s directive to halt the so-called “massacre” in Rafah. 

In its press release, the ICJ states that it has petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to demand Israel allow wounded individuals to exit Gaza – and prevent sexual attacks on patients – referring to the situation as an “ongoing Nakba.”

How utterly reckless to ignore the dozens of tortured Israeli hostages! 

Where’s the compassion for the young girls and boys assaulted by the barbaric Nukhba terrorists? Instead, MSF focuses solely on the aggressor.

Hamas embedding in civilian populations

This June, MSF posted on X mourning the death of their “physiotherapist” Fadi Al-Wadiya in an Israeli strike on Gaza. Subseqeuntly, the IDF revealed that he had been an operative in Islamic Jihad’s rocket division – a terrorist involved in missile development, serving as a specialized resource in electronics and chemistry. 

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The IDF spokesman commented: “This is yet another case of terrorists in Gaza using civilians as human shields.”

In the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, an article highlighted other controversial MSF members, such as Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a physician who publicly called on Palestinians “to fight and die as martyrs.” Germany has added Abu Sitta to their list of terrorism-supporting radicals and barred him from entry into the Schengen Area. 

MSF, blinded to the atrocities committed by subhuman entities, brazenly lectures the world’s most humane nation on how to treat ruthless murderers who have no regard for life, even as the Jewish people wage a battle for survival against Hamas and Iran.

Israel seeks peace with all neighboring countries and extends a hand even to the Iranian people, whose leadership repeatedly declares its desire to annihilate Israel. Recently, NBC News reported the arrest of two Iranian terrorists in Brooklyn, preparing to assassinate president-elect Donald Trump. Explosives, machine guns, and pistols were found in their hideout.

Iran is rattled. Israel has proven to the Islamic regime that it are vulnerable and that Israel can severely harm its economy and leadership. Indeed, there is concern in Israel about a potential Iranian attack that could ignite a regional war. However, this would also be the ayatollah’s greatest mistake and an economic disaster, potentially leading to the fall of the murderous regime that threatens the free world.

The writer is the CEO of Radios 100FM, honorary consul general of Nauru, vice dean of the Diplomatic Consular Corps, and president of the Israeli Radio Broadcasters Association.