Tel Aviv Tribune Net correspondents
Oman- In an incident that sparked widespread condemnation in the Jordanian community, the Israeli occupation authorities arrested the Jordanian doctor, Abdullah Salama Al-Balawi, upon his arrival at the Allenby Crossing (King Hussein Bridge), as part of a medical relief campaign heading to the Gaza Strip, despite obtaining official approvals from the Israeli side. And prior coordination through official Jordanian authorities.
His father, Dr. Salama Al-Balawi, confirmed that the Israeli authorities detained his son (38 years old) on December 19, when he was part of an international medical delegation heading to the Gaza Strip to perform the required surgical operations for the wounded and injured in the ongoing Israeli aggression.
Al-Balawi added in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that “the Israeli side informed the delegation accompanying his son that it had seized Doctor Abdullah for the purposes of the investigation,” adding, “After that, we learned that he was transferred to the Petah Tikva investigation center near Tel Aviv, and that the investigation will continue with him until next week.” Therefore, the lawyer has not yet been able to meet him.”
For his part, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Al-Safadi confirmed that his ministry is following up on the issue of the arrest of Doctor Al-Balawi, pointing out that “the ministry has its own channels.” Al-Safadi stressed in his speech during the meeting of the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives that the government is awaiting a response from the Israeli side regarding the reasons for… Arrest.
Investigation and concealment
Salama Al-Balawi indicated that his son Abdullah (married with four children) “is still under enforced disappearance,” in light of the occupation’s refusal to allow his lawyer or even representatives of the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet with him, stressing that his family does not know – yet – the circumstances of his detention, and has not You get satisfactory answers about the reasons that led to this.
Dr. Al-Balawi called on the Jordanian authorities to work to push the Israeli authorities to immediately release his son, noting that he entered Palestine for the humanitarian purpose of performing the surgical operations needed by the wounded in the Gaza Strip.
He added, “Doctor Abdullah left Jordan in prior coordination and officially. Therefore, the Jordanian state must take immediate action to release him, and we do not accept his continued detention for another additional day.”
He told Tel Aviv Tribune Net that Doctor Abdullah previously participated in a relief campaign to Gaza with the same organization, and he was not informed that there was any problem with his travel there again, stressing that what happened was “an Israeli attempt to intimidate doctors and humanitarian workers to support the bereaved in the besieged Strip.” “.
Dr. Salama Al-Balawi confirmed that although his son, the doctor, only stayed in Gaza for a short period last time, “it was enough to make him feel constant pain as a result of seeing the injured and martyrs in Gaza, as if he had lived with them for a long life,” explaining that his feeling of responsibility towards his family In the Gaza Strip, this was the reason for his determination to return to them again.
The issue of prisoners
The National Committee for Jordanian Prisoners and Missing Persons in Israeli Detention Centers held the occupation authorities fully responsible for the safety of Dr. Abdullah Al-Balawi, calling in a statement issued on Tuesday on the Jordanian government to make all efforts and use all the pressure cards that Jordan possesses in order to release him and all others. Jordanian prisoners held by the occupation, and the government called for the urgent need to appoint a lawyer to defend him, and to know the circumstances and reasons for his arrest.
For her part, Member of the Jordanian Parliament Rakin Abu Haniyeh called on the government to act immediately to release the Jordanian doctor Al-Balawi. In her interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, she stressed that “the problem with the issue of Jordanian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons is that we lack accurate information about the conditions of the prisoners in terms of health, the lengths of detention, cases of strikes, and the assaults that affected them and all the prisoners in the occupation prisons.”
She also pointed out the problem of not being able to visit prisoners, whether by their families or by humanitarian and international bodies, “and therefore we cannot base our movements or procedures on accurate information,” according to Abu Haniyeh.
The representative pointed out that “the case of the Jordanian doctor Al-Balawi is complex. On the one hand, he went on an official medical mission, and therefore what happened to him is considered a type of assault on a Jordanian citizen, in addition to the fact that he is a doctor who went on a humanitarian mission, and on the other hand, it is necessary to The government takes immediate action to find out the reasons for the doctor’s arrest, and works to release him immediately, in accordance with the peace agreement between Jordan and the Israeli occupation, even if we do not recognize it.”
Regarding the issue of the Jordanian prisoners in the occupation prisons, who numbered 27, Representative Rakeen stressed that “the Jordanian prisoners are living in extremely difficult humanitarian conditions, and that it has been the duty of the Jordanian governments for years to work to release them, especially since the vast majority of them were arrested before Over 15 years, without visits or contact with their families in Jordan.”
The families of Jordanian prisoners suffer from the difficulty of communicating with their detained children, due to the arbitrary Israeli measures that prevent or limit their visits, especially after October 7, 2023, which exacerbated the suffering of the families due to their lack of knowledge of the health or humanitarian conditions of their children, amid increasing human rights reports that… She talks about the poor conditions inside Israeli occupation prisons.
