Key facts
- Sama Safi, a 20-year-old Palestinian American student, has been detained by Israeli military forces since June 2.
- She is being held without charge in a detention center in Jerusalem.
- Israeli military claims Safi and three other women were arrested for promoting terrorist activities.
- US legislators, including Senators Peter Welch, Jeff Merkley, and Chris Van Hollen, and Representative Ayanna Pressley, have called for her release.
- Safi's family has raised concerns about her chronic medical condition and inadequate treatment in detention.
- A US embassy representative visited Safi and reported she was receiving sufficient food and appeared in good spirits.
A 20-year-old Palestinian American woman, Sama Safi, has been held in Israeli military detention for nearly two weeks following a pre-dawn raid on her family home on June 2. Safi, a psychology student at Birzeit University, has not been formally charged with any crimes. An Israeli military spokesperson stated that Safi and three other women detained around the same time were arrested for allegedly promoting hostile terrorist activity and related activities.
Several US legislators, including Senators Peter Welch, Jeff Merkley, and Chris Van Hollen, along with Representative Ayanna Pressley, have publicly called for Safi's release. Her family has expressed significant concern over her chronic medical condition, an autoinflammatory disease requiring regular treatment, which they fear is not being adequately managed in detention.
Safi's attorney, Lea Tsemel, a prominent Israeli human rights lawyer, stated that the students appear to have been targeted after other detained students allegedly provided Israeli forces with names of individuals involved in an activist student organization called Qutub, which Israel claims is affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Tsemel disputes the allegations and suggests information may have been coerced.
During a visit, Tsemel found Safi in relatively good spirits, but noted that conditions for Palestinians in Israeli detention, particularly under administrative detention, have become harsher since October 7, 2023. Journalists and human rights groups have documented widespread abuses against Palestinian detainees.
A representative from the US embassy in Jerusalem visited Safi and reported she was receiving sufficient food and appeared in good spirits. The US State Department stated it is monitoring the situation and advocating for consular access and adequate medical care for detained Americans abroad, though it declined to comment on Safi's specific case due to privacy concerns.