A 71-year-old Palestinian physician widely revered as the ‘doctor of the poor’ has detailed widespread physical abuse and deliberate medical neglect during his more than 30 days in Israeli detention, according to a new report from Israeli newspaper Haaretz published Sunday.
Dr. Mazen Rantisi, who built a decades-long reputation for providing free and low-cost care to marginalized low-income Palestinian communities through his Ramallah clinic, was taken into custody by Israeli authorities during a pre-dawn raid on his home in the occupied West Bank on June 21. Following his arrest, prosecutors filed formal charges against Rantisi rooted in his role as board chair of the Union of Health Work Committees, a prominent Palestinian non-profit that delivers essential healthcare services to thousands of underserved Palestinians across the region annually.
In an account shared with a lawyer from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Rantisi outlined a pattern of neglect that began immediately upon his arrival at Ofer Prison. Prison officials withheld his prescription medications for the first 10 days of his detention, and continue to deny him access to one critical drug he requires to manage ongoing health conditions. Repeated requests for a formal medical examination from a physician have gone unanswered; the only medical check he has received was a quick pulse check conducted through a narrow gap in his cell door by a prison medic.
Beyond medical neglect, Rantisi also reported frequent physical violence at the hands of prison units. He stated that search teams raid his cell multiple times each week to beat detainees, and that younger imprisoned people have repeatedly formed a protective circle around him, absorbing the blows that were meant for the elderly physician. During one raid, guards fired tear gas directly into the confined space of the cell, leaving Rantisi fighting to breathe, he added.
Saja Mishraki-Baransa, the first legal representative granted in-person access to Rantisi after his arrest, added further context on the dehumanizing conditions of his detainment. Mishraki-Baransa confirmed that the doctor has experienced rapid, unhealthy weight loss due to inadequate food rations that Rantisi says are unfit for human consumption. The meals provided include mouldy bread, near-rotten tomatoes, undercooked hummus, and foul-smelling rice, according to the account.
Overcrowding is another severe issue in Rantisi’s cell: the six-bed unit currently holds 10 detainees, forcing four people to sleep on thin mattresses laid directly on the damp floor. No cleaning supplies are provided to prisoners, who are forced to share a single bar of soap for both personal hygiene and laundering clothes. The constant dampness has led to mould growth on mattresses, and the overheated cell is heavily infested with insects and other pests.
In response to Rantisi’s allegations, the Israel Prison Service issued a blanket denial, stating that it detains all people in compliance with Israeli regulations and international standards. However, Rantisi’s claims align with consistent accounts from hundreds of other Palestinian detainees held in Israeli facilities, and mirror the findings of a major official report from last year.
A report published by Israel’s Public Defender’s Office on July 1, 2023, documented what it called ‘a significant deterioration in prison conditions in Israel’ and confirmed that the country’s detention system is currently seeing ‘an unprecedented violation of the rights of detainees and prisoners.’