ABNA24 - The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies has called for international demands, both official and grassroots, to be translated into concrete and effective action to secure the immediate release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who remains imprisoned by Israeli occupation authorities.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the center said it had documented numerous public demonstrations across European Union countries and the United States in recent months. Organized by civil society groups, labor unions, and activists, the events have consistently called for the release of Palestinian medical personnel detained by Israel.
The center also noted a series of statements by European governments urging the release of Abu Safiya and other imprisoned Palestinian doctors.
Among the most prominent was a statement by the British Consulate in Occupied Jerusalem, which expressed concern for Abu Safiya’s life and called for his release. The center also highlighted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s demand for Abu Safiya’s immediate release.
The Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies praised the positions taken by international institutions, governments, and grassroots organizations supporting Palestinian prisoners and calling for the release of detained medical workers.
However, it stressed that the time has come to turn those statements into tangible measures capable of compelling Israeli occupation authorities to release Abu Safiya and his fellow medical professionals.
The center said that Israel acts as though it is above the law and disregards international human rights standards and conventions, adding that statements of concern and public condemnations have failed to influence its policies toward Palestinian prisoners.
It called on supportive governments to pursue diplomatic and legal measures to pressure Israel to comply with international humanitarian law and release detained medical personnel.
The center warned that Abu Safiya is being subjected to a “slow assassination” inside Israeli prisons through ongoing abuse and mistreatment, cautioning that any further delay in his release poses a serious threat to his life. It also criticized the international community’s inability to end his suffering before it is too late.
According to the center, Abu Safiya has been subjected to severe torture and harsh detention conditions that have led to a dangerous deterioration in his health.
It further said that he has been deliberately targeted following direct incitement by Israel’s far-right government, which it said seeks to kill him in prison after he became a symbol of Palestinian resilience and a prominent witness to Israeli actions in Gaza. The center noted that Israeli courts have repeatedly rejected requests for his release and upheld his detention.
The center acknowledged that the international community has so far failed to compel Israel either to release Abu Safiya or to halt the abuse and torture he faces in detention, raising questions about its commitment to upholding international law and addressing the detention of Gaza’s medical personnel.
Israeli occupation forces arrested Abu Safiya on December 27, 2024, during a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital while the facility was operating under wartime conditions.
The imprisoned physician suffers from chronic health conditions, including heart disease and high blood pressure, and his health has reportedly deteriorated during his detention. UN agencies, international human rights organizations, and medical groups have called for his safety to be guaranteed and for him to receive the medical care he urgently needs.
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