The release on Monday of the director of Gaza’s largest hospital, who had been held in Israeli custody for more than seven months without charge, was welcomed by Palestinian and human rights groups but caused an uproar across Israel’s political spectrum. and exposed growing tensions among government officials.
Mohammad Abu Salmiya directed Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, an early focus of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. He was was arrested in late November while traveling with a United Nations ambulance convoy to evacuate patients from a hospital to southern Gaza, and was stopped at an Israeli checkpoint, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The Israeli military later released some evidence to support its claim that Hamas operated from inside the Shifa complex, including showing reporters a fortified tunnel built beneath the complex. An investigation by The New York Times found that Hamas had used the site as a hideout and stored weapons there.
The release of Dr. Abu Salmiya appeared to have stunned Israeli officials. Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right minister in charge of national security, called the doctor’s release a “security oversight” and blamed Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and the head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, Ronen Bar, for policies that he said were at odds with government decisions.
Mr. Gallant’s office deflected responsibility, saying in a statement that the release of the detainees “is not a matter for the approval of the Minister of Defense.” The Israeli Prison Service said in a statement that the decision was made by the Israeli military and the Shin Bet, but the military said Dr. Abu Salmiya was not in military custody.
Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced himself from the decision. In a statement on Monday, he called the hospital director’s release “a grave mistake and a moral failure,” saying he and other key officials were not informed and that anyone responsible should be jailed.
In an attempt to calm growing anger, Netanyahu said he was reviewing the decision and expected a response from Shin Bet’s Bar later Monday. He also said he would set up a team of security and military officials to interview the detainees before releasing them.
Benny Gantz, a centrist minister who resigned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet in early June, suggested to Netanyahu in a statement on Monday, “Prime Minister, if you close some government offices, I am sure that space and money will be freed up for prisons.”
Mr Gantz once again seized the opportunity to call elections.
On Monday, at a press conference in Khan Younis, south of Gaza, Dr. Abu Salmiya, looking frail, said that nearly 50 other Palestinian prisoners, including other doctors and health ministry staff, had also been released and returned to Gaza.
“We were subjected to extreme torture,” said Dr. Abu Salmiya, who said he was hit on the head multiple times and had his fingers broken.
Human rights groups say Dr Abu Salmiya’s long detention without charge is an example of Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, and his release comes as Israel’s Supreme Court considers a petition to close the military barracks that are now Sde Teiman prison, where thousands of Gazans have been held since the war began last year.
It is unclear whether Dr. Abu Salmiya was ever held in Sde Teiman. He was released from another prison, Nafha, according to the Israel Prisons Service.
However, a statement from Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, addressed the controversy surrounding Sde Teiman in a statement on Monday explaining the doctor’s release. The statement noted that a decision had been made to hold detainees at Sde Teiman only for short periods of time, and said that this had resulted in “the release of dozens of detainees to clear the detention facility.” The statement said Shin Bet had warned elected officials “in every possible forum” that they needed more space “due to the need to arrest terrorists.”
The Gaza Health Ministry called for the release of all other health workers detained in Gaza who were “arrested and mistreated simply because they treated the sick and injured”.
The ministry said at least 310 health workers in Gaza had been detained by Israeli forces since the war began, but did not specify how many had been released.
Johnatan Reiss Contribute report.
