“No healthcare worker should have to choose between speaking out and detention”: MAP demands release of Dr Dima and detained Palestinian healthcare workers

Aseel Baidoun, MAP’s Deputy Director of Advocacy and Communications, based in Ramallah, said: “What is happening to Dr Dima is abhorrent. She is being held in conditions that fall far short of the most basic standards of dignity and humane treatment owed to every person in detention. She has been denied her glasses, left without a mattress, and forced to wear the same clothes for days – even after experiencing a medical emergency in detention.

"Dr Dima must be released immediately. There can be no justification for treating a detained doctor in this way.

"But Dr Dima’s case is part of a much wider picture facing Palestinian healthcare workers. Her arrest comes amid the detention of fellow Palestinian doctor Dr Mazen Al-Rantisi in the West Bank in June. From Dr Mazen Al-Rantisi to Dr Hussam Abu Safiya – and the hundreds of other Palestinian healthcare workers detained since October 2023 – we are seeing deeply disturbing levels of detention, mistreatment and intimidation.

"Dr Dima was detained after speaking publicly about the treatment of a detained colleague. No doctor should have to choose between standing up for a colleague and putting themselves at risk of detention and abuse. Healthcare workers must be able to care for their patients, defend their colleagues, and speak out about abuses without fear of reprisal.

"The UK Government cannot simply express concern while Palestinian healthcare workers continue to be detained and mistreated. It must demand the immediate release of Dr Dima, Dr Al-Rantisi, Dr Abu Safiya, and all arbitrarily detained Palestinian healthcare workers, press Israel to end the detention and mistreatment of healthcare workers, and take concrete action to hold those responsible to account.”

[ENDS]

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• Since October 2023, 314 healthcare personnel have been detained or arrested in the West Bank and a further 324 in Gaza, according to Health Cluster data. Reports from Palestinian rights organisations and UN bodies have documented allegations of severe abuse, torture, sexual violence, medical neglect and inhumane detention conditions affecting Palestinians, including healthcare workers.
• Between October 2023 and August 2025, more than 75 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody, reinforcing concerns about a wider pattern of abuse, medical neglect and inhumane treatment.

Medical Aid for Palestinians works for a future where every Palestinian has access to a comprehensive, effective and locally-led system of healthcare, and the full realisation of their rights to health and dignity. We have worked for more than 40 years in the occupied Palestinian territory and in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.