Israel has inflicted abuse, starvation and invasive cell searches on an eminent Palestinian doctor, according to an Israeli nonprofit, nearly a year after he was first detained in a raid that shut down one of the last remaining functioning hospitals in northern Gaza.
On Thursday, a lawyer working with Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) was able to visit Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya after four prior attempts were denied “without explanation,” the group said.
Abu Safiya has lost 55 pounds (25 kilograms) from “severe starvation” at Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, PHRI alleged. Authorities have withheld clean clothing and medical care from Abu Safiya, who has pre-existing heart struggles and untreated scabies, the PHRI lawyers added.
He has not been brought before a judge, interrogated, or informed of the legal grounds of his detention since March, PHRI said, adding: “Dr. Abu Safiya emphasized that he is detained solely because of his role as a doctor.”
CNN has reached out to the Israel Prison Service for comment on the allegations.
Israeli forces detained Abu Safiya — the former director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya — during a raid that shut down the medical facility in December. At the time, the Israeli military said it detained him because he was “suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative.” The military did not provide any evidence to support the claims.
Abu Safiya’s detention comprises a broader campaign of “systematic targeting and abuse” of Palestinian health care workers, PHRI said. More than 100 medical staff have been incarcerated without formal charges, according to the Israeli nonprofit, in “clear violation” of due process.