Israel continues to hold abducted Palestinian doctor after reported heart attack
Israeli authorities have continued to detain Palestinian gynaecologist Dima Amin since last Tuesday, after dozens of soldiers forcibly entered her home in Ramallah's al-Tira neighbourhood and arrested her over an alleged social media post.
Her family told Middle East Eye that soldiers stormed her home at about 2 am on Tuesday, breaking the main lock and entering the house.
Amin was surprised by their arrival. Rather than carrying out a routine search, the soldiers asked for her name, told her she was under arrest and ordered her to change her clothes.
According to her family, the troops, accompanied by a female soldier, escorted her from the house, handcuffed her and took her into custody.
More than a day after her arrest, her lawyer told the family that Amin had undergone a catheterisation procedure after suffering severe chest pain shortly after being detained.
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Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Amin had suffered a “cardiac episode” after soldiers forcibly tightened her handcuffs. Marks from the restraints remained visible on her wrists days later.
Her family grew increasingly concerned about her health. But her lawyer told them that Amin had been returned to the Moscovia detention centre on Thursday without access to medical reports relating to the procedure.
The family said they had been unable to obtain any medical records about her condition. Her lawyer confirmed that Amin had been returned to detention after a medical examination found no condition requiring hospitalisation.
According to Israeli media reports, Amin was transferred to Hadassah Hospital, although the family was unable to independently verify this.
Following her return to detention, Amin appeared at her first court hearing. Her detention was extended until Monday.
Court proceedings showed that her arrest was based on social media posts that Israeli intelligence deemed to constitute incitement.
Amin's children, who are studying in Germany and Spain, learned of their mother's arrest by phone. They have since been trying to establish her whereabouts and obtain information about her condition.
The family said the absence of a loved one, with no means of communication and no information about her health or wellbeing, had been a harsh and painful experience.
They said they remained uncertain about the circumstances of Amin's detention and her medical condition.
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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