A bipartisan cohort of Democratic lawmakers from both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate has issued a public appeal to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, demanding urgent diplomatic intervention to free a 20-year-old U.S. citizen held without formal charges in Israeli detention since early June. The detainee, Sama Safi, is a Palestinian-American student at Birzeit University based in the occupied West Bank, taken into custody alongside three other female students during a pre-dawn raid on her family home by Israeli armed forces. In the formally circulated congressional letter, legislators outline a rapidly worsening picture of Safi’s health amid what they describe as appalling prison conditions, warning that her ongoing detention could bring irreversible, life-threatening damage to her vital organs.
Sama Safi lives with Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), a complex chronic genetic disorder that demands consistent daily medication, routine clinical monitoring, and specialized biologic treatments not available within either Palestinian or Israeli healthcare systems. As Nizar Farzakh, Safi’s relative and a part-time lecturer at George Washington University, explained to Middle East Eye, the young student previously traveled to Italy every three months to receive the life-sustaining treatment her condition requires. The congressional letter adds that coercive treatment in custody, including the use of stress positions and prolonged shackling, has sharply exacerbated her symptoms, triggering intense rheumatoid inflammation and persistent chest pain. Lawmakers also highlight that Safi’s transfer between multiple Israeli detention facilities—conducted while she was held blindfolded—included a movement from the occupied West Bank to Israel’s Damon Military Prison near Haifa, a step they call a clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention’s prohibitions on transferring detained civilians out of occupied territory.
Labeling Safi’s detention as arbitrary and unlawful, the legislators urge Rubio to leverage every diplomatic tool at the State Department’s disposal to secure her immediate release. Israeli authorities have defended the arrest, linking Safi to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Marxist organization classified by Israel as a terror group. But Lea Tsemel, an Israeli human rights attorney representing Safi, rejected all accusations against her client shortly after the arrest in comments to The Guardian. Farzakh clarified that Safi’s only connection to the group was attendance at a casual university book club meeting that included some PFLP members, emphasizing that the club functions as an informal student social gathering rather than a politically active cell.
Despite the congressional appeal, Farzakh expressed little optimism that the Trump administration will move to secure Safi’s release, noting that a plea deal appears to be the only foreseeable path forward. Under the expected terms outlined to Farzakh, Safi would be required to plead guilty to attending an event attended by members of an illegal organization in exchange for a short prison sentence and a substantial fine. If she rejects the deal, she faces a lengthier prison term and an even larger financial penalty, leaving her with no favorable options, Farzakh said.
Safi’s case comes amid a broader surge in detentions and violence in the occupied West Bank that has drawn growing scrutiny from U.S. legislators. In a separate development this week, 45 out of 47 Democratic U.S. senators sent an open letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for his direct personal intervention to protect U.S. citizens and their family members residing in the region. The senatorial letter notes a sharp recent uptick in bilateral violence that has prompted mass Palestinian arrests from Israeli security forces and documented attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian religious sites including mosques. While the senators did not name Safi specifically, they called on Netanyahu to implement measures to curb escalating violence, establish an independent, credible mechanism to investigate legal violations, and hold settler perpetrators of violence accountable, mirroring how Israel addresses violence against its own citizens. The letter specifically advocates for accountability for harassment, threats, and violence targeting Palestinian-American citizens, and calls on Israel to complete full investigations into the deaths of nine U.S. citizens killed in the West Bank in recent years. To date, Washington has never called for independent investigations outside the control of the Israeli military into these high-profile deaths, which include the 2022 killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the 2024 shooting death of activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi during an anti-settlement protest, and the 2025 beating death of ice cream shop worker Sayfollah Musallet at the hands of Israeli settlers.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society confirms that mass detentions of Palestinians in the West Bank have reached unprecedented levels following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, with more than 25,000 Palestinians arrested since the escalation began. Detainees regularly include students, political activists, and journalists: just last week, Palestinian journalist Abdulrahman Hasan was taken into custody and has not been seen since. Data shows that Israeli military and settler violence in the occupied West Bank has killed more than 1,100 Palestinians over the past three years alone, with the violence continuing unabated: earlier this week, Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy. Human rights groups have also documented repeated incidents where Israeli forces block Palestinian ambulances from reaching wounded civilians or transporting critical patients to hospitals in time to receive care. Middle East Eye attempted to secure comment from the U.S. State Department for this report but received no response prior to publication.