Coalition Pressures Rubio to Secure Release of US Student Held in Israel

Safi, a psychology student at Birzeit University, was seized from her home in the West Bank during a 3:00 a.m. raid on June 2. Despite allegations of involvement with a student group, she remains imprisoned at the Damon facility near Haifa, a transfer that signatories of a recent letter to Rubio argue constitutes a violation of Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The coalition, which includes the Council on American Islamic Relations and Jewish Voice for Peace, describes her ongoing detention as an arbitrary act that ignores her critical health needs.

Safi suffers from a chronic condition requiring specialized care, including daily medication and quarterly injections, which are currently unavailable to her. In a statement included with the letter, Safi described being blindfolded, shackled, and denied food and water during the initial 24 hours of her abduction. Human rights organizations, including B'Tselem, have repeatedly raised alarms regarding the conditions within Israel's military prison system, documenting systemic issues ranging from medical neglect to reports of torture. With nearly 10,000 security inmates currently held in Israeli facilities, the coalition argues that the government’s treatment of American citizens like Safi—and the recent short-term detention of citizen Hussein Jabarin—reflects behavior inconsistent with an allied partnership.