The world’s largest nursing union, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), has cut ties with Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva over its links to the country’s military and a long record of corruption and bribery scandals.

Following the decision, the RCN removed Teva UK as a sponsor and partner of an upcoming event at the union’s headquarters in London.

Pro-Palestine groups hailed the move as “a major breakthrough” for the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel over the Gaza genocide and its apartheid policies in the occupied West Bank.

The RCN, which represents nearly 600,000 nurses, acted after Nurses for Palestine and UK Healthcare Petitions to Royal Colleges (UKHPRC) campaigned against the partnership.

In a public letter, nurses, midwives and healthcare professionals warned that Teva UK is “entangled with the Israeli military, part of the institutional apparatus of apartheid and responsible for corporate malfeasance”.