Israel continues to hold abducted Palestinian doctor after reported heart attack
Israeli authorities have continued to keep Palestinian gynaecologist Dima Amin in detention since last Tuesday, after dozens of Israeli soldiers forcibly entered her home in the al-Tira neighbourhood of Ramallah and took her away over an alleged social media post.
Her husband, Haider Abu Ghosh, told Middle East Eye that the Israeli army stormed their home at 2am on Tuesday, breaking the main lock on the door and entering the house.
He said that the couple was surprised to find the soldiers inside, adding that the military did not conduct a regular search.
When they saw the 54-year-old doctor, they asked about her name, then told her she was under arrest and ordered her to change her clothes, while Abu Ghosh was held by the soldiers in another room.
"The soldiers, along with a female soldier, took her outside the house and apparently handcuffed her. I didn't see anything because I was being held away from her," he added.
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More than a day after her arrest, her lawyer informed her family that she had undergone a catheterisation procedure after experiencing severe chest pain immediately following her arrest.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Dr Amin had suffered a "cardiac episode" after soldiers forcefully tightened her handcuffs, leaving marks on her wrists that remained visible days later.
Her family grew increasingly worried about her health as news of her condition spread, but her lawyer told them that she had been returned to the Moscovia detention centre on Thursday without being able to see the medical reports related to the procedure.
"We haven't been able to see any medical reports, but the lawyer confirmed that she was returned to prison because the catheterisation didn't reveal any health problems," Abu Ghosh said.
"According to the Israeli press, she was transferred to Hadassah Hospital, but we haven't been able to confirm this," he added.
After her return to prison, her initial court hearing was held, during which her detention was extended until Monday.
According to her husband, the arrest, as stated in the court hearing, was based on social media posts deemed incitement by Israeli intelligence.
Dr Amin's children, a son and daughter studying in Germany and Spain, received the news of her arrest over the phone and have since been calling their father to inquire about her well-being.
"The absence of a family member, without any means of communication, even without a health issue, is absolutely devastating for us, and it's deeply distressing that we can't know anything about her," Abu Ghosh said.
Several international human rights organisations have contacted the family, attempting to intervene for Dr Amin's release, but according to her husband, it's all in the hands of the Israeli authorities.
Widespread condemnation
Dr Amin was tightly restrained during her transfer and while in hospital, and marks from the restraints were visible on her wrists, Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem quoted her lawyer as saying during a military court hearing last week.
The organisation said that since October 2023, the Israeli prison system has transformed into “a system of systematic violations, including physical violence, humiliation, denial of medical treatment, and inhumane living conditions”.
At least 90 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention camps during this period.
Yuli Novak, the organisation's director, said in a statement: "Dr Amin is one of more than 9,300 Palestinians currently detained in Israeli prisons, where ill-treatment and inhumane conditions have become commonplace."
Novak added that Dr Amin's case demonstrates the brutality of this system.
"A woman and a doctor of her age suffers a heart attack and undergoes a catheterisation while in Israeli custody, yet she is returned to detention and remains imprisoned, Novak said.
"This is what the policy of intimidating the civilian population and normalising torture and ill-treatment looks like," he added.
The Palestinian NGO Network said that the doctor's arrest is part of a pattern of attacks on humanitarian and community work in the Palestinian territories and the targeting of medical personnel.
It pointed to the continued detention of Dr Mazen al-Rantisi, the arrest and subsequent release of Dr Jamila Abu Dahou, and the ongoing detention of 250 medical professionals, most of whom are from the Gaza Strip, including Dr Hussam Abu Safiya.
The NGO network held the Israeli authorities fully responsible for this targeting, demanding immediate action at all levels to secure the release of the medical personnel and to "halt the violations committed by the occupying power against the health sector".
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Israel is holding more than 90 Palestinian women in Damon Prison, including pregnant women, children and prisoners suffering from chronic health problems.
The group said that the Israeli prison administration is imposing harsh conditions on the female prisoners, denying them treatment, healthcare and adequate food, while preventing them from receiving clothing and depriving them of their most basic rights.
The Prisoners' Media Office on Saturday said that Palestinian female prisoners in Damon Prison were subjected to seven repeated raids and repression operations over a period of 21 days, as part of a systematic escalation and campaign of abuse against them.
In a statement, it said that seven violations were documented during the period between 29 July and 18 August, including storming the female prisoners' rooms, abusing them, assaulting them by beating and handcuffing them, as well as isolating them and forcibly taking them out to the prison yard.
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