Palestine: Israel’s systematic targeting of Palestinian health workers continues

Dr Dima Amin, aged 55, is an obstetrician-gynaecologist who has dedicated her career to providing reproductive and maternal healthcare to Palestinian women. She is also a member of the board of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, a Palestinian civil society organisation that works to advocate the socio-economic and political rights of Palestinians, particularly those of marginalised communities, women, workers and young people.

On 18 August 2026, Israeli forces arrested her during a night raid on her home in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. During her transfer, she suffered a health emergency and was taken to hospital, where she underwent several medical examinations, including cardiac catheterisation. She was returned to interrogation as soon as her condition stabilised.

On 21 August 2026, after being held at the Moscobiya detention and interrogation centre, Dr Amin was placed in solitary confinement in a windowless cell. The detention and sanitary conditions there were extremely poor. On 27 August 2026, the Israeli military prosecution indicted her for "incitement" and "support for terrorist organisations" based on posts on her Facebook account denouncing human rights violations in Palestine. Dr Amin is currently held in Al-Damon prison. Palestinian prisoners' rights organisations have repeatedly documented the harsh treatment of Palestinian women detainees in that facility.

Dr Amin's case is part of a broader pattern in which Palestinian health workers are targeted for their work in defending the right to health and human rights, for providing care, for speaking out against violations, and for their involvement in health organisations. As highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, healthcare workers who act to promote and protect the right to health must be recognised as human rights defenders and granted appropriate protection. The Observatory is concerned that the action taken against Dr Amin for expressing her views on the human rights situation in Palestine amounts to the criminalisation of legitimate human rights advocacy. According to Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), 446 Palestinian healthcare workers have been detained or gone missing since October 2023. As of 17 April 2026, 83 were confirmed to remain in Israeli detention, 75 of them from the Gaza Strip, and six had reportedly been killed or died in detention.

Among detained healthcare workers is Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, a paediatrician, human rights defender, and director of Kamal Adwan Hospitals in Northern Gaza, whose arbitrary detention and ill-treatment has already been denounced by other HRD-protection organisations, such as Front Line Defenders. His work in documenting violations and advocating for the protection of patients and healthcare services further highlights his role as a human rights defender. Dr Abu Safiya was arrested on 27 December 2024, when Israeli forces stormed the hospital he had refused to evacuate. He has been held without trial ever since under Israel's Unlawful Combatants Law. Dr Abu Safiya has been subjected to torture, including beatings, electric shocks, and systematic denial of medical care despite a heart condition, to the point that, according to UN experts who reported "severe torture" in March 2026, his life and health are now in grave danger.

The targeting of healthcare workers extends also to the West Bank, as shown by the case of Dr Mazen Al-Rantisi, a 71-year-old physician known for caring for low-income Palestinians. He was arrested on 21 June 2026 in a pre-dawn raid on his home in the occupied West Bank and later indicted for chairing the board of the Union of Health Work Committees, a non-profit organisation that provides medical care to thousands of Palestinians every year. His prosecution illustrates how the Israeli authorities criminalise the very provision of healthcare and the civil society organisations that make it possible. According to statements he made to a lawyer of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), Dr Al-Rantisi has been subjected to ill-treatment, food deprivation and medical neglect. His family reports that he suffers from several chronic illnesses and is being denied his medication.

The Observatory recalls that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, must ensure and maintain medical services in the occupied territory and allow medical personnel to carry out their duties (Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention). Civilian medical personnel must be respected and protected, and no one may be punished for carrying out medical activities compatible with medical ethics (Articles 15 and 16 of Additional Protocol I, which reflect customary international law). Israel is also bound by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in the occupied Palestinian territory. This includes the right to freedom of opinion and expression (Article 19), the right to liberty (Article 9), and the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 7), which is also enshrined in the UN Convention against Torture. Under the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), the State must provide healthcare to detainees, and prolonged solitary confinement is prohibited. The UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners (Bangkok Rules) further require gender-specific healthcare for women detainees. The targeting and conditions of detention of Palestinian health workers, as illustrated by the cases of Dr Amin, Dr Abu Safiya and Dr Al-Rantisi, appear manifestly inconsistent with these standards.

The Observatory condemns the systematic targeting of Palestinian health workers and calls on the Israeli authorities to put an end to it, as already demanded by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory in July 2026. By detaining, prosecuting and ill-treating health workers, the Israeli authorities are depriving the Palestinian population of access to essential healthcare, in Gaza and throughout the occupied Palestinian territory. Health workers and medical facilities must be respected and protected, in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law.

The Observatory calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Dr Dima Amin, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, Dr Mazen Al-Rantisi and all Palestinian health workers arbitrarily detained, and to drop all charges against them.

The Observatory further calls on the Israeli authorities to stop using vague "incitement" and "counter-terrorism" charges to criminalise their work and the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression.

The Observatory urges the Israeli authorities to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of detainees and ensure they have access to appropriate medical care and medication, to their lawyers and to their families. All allegations of torture and ill-treatment must be impartially and effectively investigated, and those responsible held to account.