Sama Safi, a 20-year-old Palestinian-American psychology student living in the West Bank, was arrested on June 2 during an IDF raid on her home and held without charge.
Two weeks later, Safi has yet to be charged with a crime, according to US officials as well as media outlets citing statements from her family.
An IDF spokesperson told The Guardian that Safi and three other female students at Birzeit University in the West Bank were arrested "after promoting hostile terrorist activity and additional terrorist-related activities." The Guardian added that another student was released the week after the arrest.
IDF got intel on Safi from other students detained previously
Safi’s lawyer, Lea Tsemel, told The Guardian that two detained students provided Israeli security forces with information that led to Safi and three other women’s arrest. Specifically, they linked Safi and her colleagues with the student activism organization called al-Qutub, which, according to several local and international media outlets, is associated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which Israel has designated a terror organization.
Safi's next hearing is scheduled for Sunday, Tsemel told The Guardian, adding that being involved with al-Qutub is not illegal and the information was likely "extorted" from the detainees, "probably by force."
US senators, congresspeople call for Safi's release
Several US government officials released statements calling for the US to come to Safi's aid, considering her status as an American citizen.
Massachusetts Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen posted a video on Twitter/X on June 3 claiming Safi was taken from her home “without explanation” during a 3 a.m. raid and told security forces she was an American citizen, which he said was ignored.
Van Hollen said he spoke to Safi's mother, who told him Safi has a medical condition that requires daily medication. Other family members told The Guardian that Safi was not getting enough medical attention in detention.
Democratic senator from Oregon Jeff Merkley posted a statement on Twitter/X on June 6 saying that "Sama's family and the U.S. Embassy don't know where she was taken. This is a five-alarm fire. The U.S. needs to secure Sama's release NOW."
Also on June 6, Massachusetts Democratic Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley wrote a similar message on Twitter/X, claiming also that the IDF soldiers "terrorized [Safi's] family" when they arrested her.
The Jerusalem Post reached out to the IDF for comment.