February 13, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
Samaher Esmail, a Palestinian American detained in the West Bank by the Israel Defense Forces, still has not been given US consular access more than a week later and was beaten and denied medication in Israeli custody, her family said in a statement Tuesday.
The family said that Esmail, 46, was “dragged” from her home by IDF members and “beaten badly in Israeli custody.” They also said her home was destroyed in the process.
“Despite having had her prescription medication from the moment they arrested her, the IDF has declined to administer it,” according to the family statement. “Despite having a clear obligation to grant Consular access, the Netanyahu government has declined daily requests from the US Embassy for permission to visit Ms. Esmail.”
The IDF confirmed Esmail’s detention, saying she was “arrested for incitement on social media,” but did not respond to the allegations of mistreatment raised by the family.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said he could not speak to the specific claims made by the family, citing privacy laws.
According to the family, Esmail was detained because of “10-year-old Facebook posts and political cartoons she shared.”
“Ms. Esmail’s opinions may be disfavored in Israel proper, but the inescapable reality is they were protected speech which no rational person could consider an incitement to violence,” the statement said.
The family said she has not been formally charged with a crime.
According to the statement, Esmail was presented to a military commission on Monday and was granted bail, but the IDF appealed the ruling.
Esmail’s family called on the US to do more to obtain consular access to her.
“The United States is not without tools to obtain consular access to Ms. Esmail and to end her ordeal. It just has to find the moral courage to do so, which has been, thus far, a tall order,” the statement said.
