Israeli forces arrest Palestinian ‘doctor of the poor’

Dr Mazen Al-Rantisi’s arrest for unknown reasons has led to an outpouring of support on social media Photograph: X View image in fullscreen Dr Mazen Al-Rantisi’s arrest for unknown reasons has led to an outpouring of support on social media Photograph: X Israeli forces arrest Palestinian ‘doctor of the poor’ Dr Mazen Al-Rantisi, a 71-year-old physician well known for providing care to low-income Palestinians, was arrested in the occupied West Bank Israeli forces on Sunday arrested a prominent 71-year-old Palestinian physician known as the “doctor of the poor” in a pre-dawn raid on his home in the occupied West Bank , prompting widespread condemnation. Dr Mazen Al-Rantisi, a physician widely known for providing care to low-income Palestinians, was arrested before dawn at his home in the al-Tira neighbourhood of Ramallah. He was later taken to the police station in the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, where he is believed to be under interrogation by the Special Investigations Unit. Israeli authorities have not said why he was detained or where he is currently being held. Archbishop of Canterbury calls for end to Israeli occupation of Palestine Read more According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz , the arrest is believed to be connected to Al-Rantisi’s position as chair of the Union of Health Work Committees, a Palestinian non-profit founded in 1985 that operates clinics serving thousands of patients each year, particularly in rural communities with limited access to healthcare. The organisation was declared an “unlawful association” by the Israeli military in 2020 under emergency regulations dating back to the British Mandate for Palestine . Two years later, Israeli forces shut its headquarters in Al-Bireh. Despite those measures, the group remains legally registered with the Palestinian Authority’s interior ministry. News of Al-Rantisi’s detention spread rapidly across the occupied West Bank, with an outpouring of support on social media. Former patients, activists and local leaders described him as a figure whose work reached far beyond the consulting room. Many recalled that he frequently waived consultation fees, supplied medicines to families unable to afford them and distributed donated prescriptions to vulnerable patients. For years, they said, his clinic served not only as a medical practice but also as a place of refuge for some of the poorest members of Palestinian society. The arrest prompted an online solidarity campaign under the hashtag #FreedomForDrMazenAlRantisi, with supporters demanding his immediate release and information about his whereabouts. Israeli former leaders and security chiefs threaten legal action over ‘Jewish terrorism’ Read more “The arrest of Dr Al-Rantisi is another alarming escalation in Israel’s crackdown on Palestinian civil society”, Naji Abbas, the director of the Prisoners and Detainees department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) told the Guardian. “By detaining a respected physician and the