U.S. Advocacy Groups Demand Release of American Student Detained by Israeli Forces

On June 2, Israeli Defense Forces soldiers broke down the door of a home in the occupied West Bank at 3:00 a.m. and abducted 20-year-old Sama Safi, a psychology student at Birzeit University. Safi and three other women were accused of “hostile terrorist activity” linked to a student group, though Safi has not been charged. She has been held for nearly three months in the Damon military prison near Haifa, far from the West Bank where she was seized.

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The Institute for Middle East Understanding, joined by the Council on American Islamic Relations, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Center for Constitutional Rights, argues that the Israeli military’s transfer of Safi to Damon violates Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which bans the unlawful deportation of protected persons from occupied territory.

Common Dreams

Human-rights organization B’Tselem has labeled Israel’s military prisons a “network of torture camps.” The United Nations and other rights groups have documented systemic abuse, including sexual assault and denial of medical care. A report by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society noted that at least ten Palestinian women at Damon prison have contracted scabies amid overcrowding and shortages of basic supplies. According to the human-rights group HaMoKed, nearly 10,000 “security” inmates are held in Israeli prisons as of this month.

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• “This is how adversaries, not allies, act," said Anthony Zenkus, a professor at Columbia University, of Safi's abduction.” — Anthony Zenkus, a professor at Columbia University, of Safi's abduction

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These statements underscore the perception among U.S. advocates that the detention of an American citizen constitutes a breach of both international law and the United States’ duty to protect its nationals abroad. The coalition’s letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urges immediate diplomatic action to secure Safi’s release.

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