US lawmakers demand release of American student held in Israel

A group of 40 US lawmakers, including six senators, demanded the immediate release of a 20-year-old American on Tuesday who is being held in an Israeli military prison.

In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the legislators demanded the release of Sama Safi, citing her “severe chronic health condition.”

Safi, a student at Birzeit University, was reportedly taken from her family’s home in the occupied West Bank during late-night military raids June 2.

“You have a duty to secure the safety and security of US citizens abroad,” the lawmakers wrote, urging the State Department to prevent “further irreparable harm.” They emphasized that it is Washington's responsibility to ensure the safety of all Americans overseas, asserting that Safi's life is “at risk on your watch.”

Medical crisis neglect

The letter revealed that Safi suffers from a complex chronic condition known as Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF). Legislators warned that her condition has “rapidly deteriorated” and doctors have cautioned she faces “life-threatening damage to her internal organs” if she remains in custody. Since returning to detention Aug. 16 following a brief medical release, Safi has reportedly “not once received her daily medication” nor been evaluated by medical professionals.

Lawmakers detailed harrowing accounts of mistreatment, characterizing the environment as a “de facto State policy of organized and widespread torture.” Safi’s testimony included being shackled, blindfolded, and denied food or water for the first 24 hours of her custody. The letter also described the use of "shackling and the throwing of gas and stun grenades" into poorly ventilated cells, noting that "stress positions" have caused the student severe chest pain.

“These inhumane conditions and violence towards detainees are not unique to one facility,” said the legislators. They labeled her transfer from the occupied West Bank to the Damon military prison near Haifa a “blatant violation of the 4th Geneva Convention.”

In June, a State Department spokesperson told Anadolu that the administration is “aware of the detention of an American in the West Bank.”

The official said the Trump administration takes its commitment to assist Americans abroad seriously and is "monitoring the situation," although no details were shared due to privacy considerations.

Approximately 23,000 individuals have been detained in the occupied territory since the current war in the Gaza Strip began, according to Palestinian records.