US lawmakers urge Trump team to free of American student held by Israel

More than 40 members of the United States Congress have penned a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on him to push for the release of Sama Safi, a 20-year-old US citizen who has been detained by the Israeli military since June.

Key points

• Israel has received regarding $25bn in US military aid since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
• Six US senators – including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Chris Van Hollen – signed on to the letter alongside dozens of members of the House of Representatives.
• In February, Israeli settlers additionally fatally shot 19-year-old American citizen Nasrallah Abu Siyam.
• A State Department spokesperson informed Al Jazeera that the administration of President Donald Trump "has no higher priority than the safety and security" of US citizens.
• Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at the US-based rights group DAWN, suggested Safi's detention should trigger suspending American military aid to Israel under Washington's regulations, including the Leahy Law.

Meanwhile, the legislators cautioned on Tuesday that the Palestinian American student's health is deteriorating "under appalling conditions" in Israeli custody.

"Every day that Sama remains wrongfully detained in these inhumane conditions, she is at greater risk of irreversible and life-threatening repercussions, " the lawmakers, led by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, wrote to Rubio.

"Her life is at risk on your watch. We urge you to act swiftly and employ every tool at your disposal to secure the immediate release of Sama Safi so that she can receive the medical care she urgently needs and return to her family, her studies, and the life and freedom that every 20-year-old deserves."

Israeli forces abducted Safi. This person was attending Birzeit University, from her home in the occupied West Bank in a predawn raid almost three months ago, and they have been holding her without charge.

Safi was one of four young women who were detained as part of an Israeli crackdown on anti-occupation activism in June. Abuse in Israeli jails.

Over the past years, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed a number of US citizens, including Sayfollah Musallet. This person was beaten to death in a settler attack last year.

In February, Israeli settlers additionally fatally shot 19-year-old American citizen Nasrallah Abu Siyam. In 2024, the Israeli military killed Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a US activist from Seattle.

None of the incidents have resulted in criminal charges against the perpetrators.

As his family cautioned that the boy may die from malnutrition and mistreatment in Israeli custody, israel detained American teenager Mohammed Ibrahim for nine months last year and only published him after an outcry from US lawmakers.

Rights groups have documented horrific and widespread abuses against Palestinian detainees by Israel, including sexual violence.

"Emergency measures introduced after 7 October 2023 exposed Palestinian detainees to torture, potentially unlawful deaths, incommunicado detention, and degrading conditions, " Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, remarked in a report in May.

In their letter to Rubio, the US lawmakers underscored that Safi suffers from a chronic medical condition known as Familial Mediterranean Fever, a genetic disorder that causes fevers and inflammation, but she has not had regular access to her medication. The Palestinian American detainee has additionally been moved throughout a number of facilities.

"She describes being subjected to repeated verbal abuse and being placed in painful stress positions, as well as the presence of rapidly spreading infectious skin disease, rats, and mattresses reeking of feces, " the letter remarked. Trump administration 'aware' of the case.

For context, the State Department remarked it does not comment on congressional correspondence, and it declined to comment on the specifics of Safi's case, citing privacy worries.

Notably, a State Department spokesperson informed Al Jazeera that the administration of President Donald Trump "has no higher priority than the safety and security" of US citizens.

"We are aware of reports of an American detained in the West Bank, " the spokesperson remarked. "The Trump Administration takes its commitment to assist Americans abroad seriously and we are tracking the situation. When Americans are detained abroad, the Department advocates for their access to adequate medical care, proper treatment, and regular consular visits."

"Sama Safi is an American citizen. Her own administration has abandoned her, " he informed Al Jazeera. "The State Department's job is to fight for her release, and it is refusing to do that job. US law demands more than advocacy. Under the Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Law, prolonged detention without charge is a gross violation of human rights, and Washington must cut all military aid to the Israeli units responsible for holding her."

For context, the Israeli administration did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment by the time of publication.

Earlier this month, the Israeli military informed Florida radio station WMNF that it detained four "female suspects" in the West Bank "after promoting hostile terrorist activity and additional terrorist-related activities".

Taken together, the developments around US lawmakers urge Trump team to free of American student held by point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.