A CROWD of over 300 people attended a rally opposite 10 Downing Street yesterday evening to call for the immediate release of Dr Hussam Abu-Safiya, from imprisonment by the Israeli Occupations Forces.
A stage and microphone were set up on the pavement and numerous speeches took place.
Hannah Spencer, Green Party M.P. for Gorton and Denton said: ‘The Israeli authorities continue to do what they want. They impose the death sentence on Palestinians. They have no respect as an occupying power. The UK and other Western governments refuse to hold Israel to account.
‘Dr Abu-Safiya and many other Palestinian doctors are detained, interrogated and tortured. He is a paediatrician, specialising in care of the newborn. He stayed in Kemal Adwan hospital under bombardment. His own son died in an Israeli strike and he told the whole world what was happening.
‘He stood with his patients until the Israeli forces captured him. Now in imminent danger he must not be allowed to die.
‘All the prisoners must be released including Marwan Bargouthi.
‘We call for an end to UK complicity and end to arms sales to Israel. We want a Prime Minister who stands up to Israel without fear or favour. Peace justice and freedom for Dr Abu-Safiya and Palestine.’
John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, was on his way to the Houses of Parliament. He said, what we’ve learnt is that (i) the IDF has targeted and killed at least 250 journalists, (ii) that health workers have been murdered and imprisoned. Dr Rantisi, the ‘doctor of the poor’, who gave his life to caring for people in the West Bank, has been detained. (iii) Dr Abu Safiya was visited by his lawyer who was so shocked to see he had clearly been tortured. He said unless action is taken, Dr Abu-Safiya will die.
McDonnell said he put an urgent question to Parliament on Monday, and again on Tuesday, but the speaker denied it twice. He is putting an urgent question again today. He contacted Hamish Faulkner a government official who said he would raise the case with Israel over the next week. McDonnell said he may not be alive in one week.
He said: ‘560 health workers have been arrested, tortured and murdered in custody. We want the UK government to instigate a process to bring these murderers to trial. Worse still is so many children have been killed across Gaza and the West Bank.
‘We want to live long enough to see Netanyahu in court.’
Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North, said: ‘We’re in the midst of a very long struggle for the Palestinian people. It is up to us to show our solidarity with the people of Palestine.
‘Dr Abu-Safiya, was a very senior clinician and hospital manager. He could have made a lucrative career … he chose to work for his people, and provide healthcare to those who could not get it. Israel denies medical attention.
‘John McDonnell is raising this urgent question for debate. and questions to the Prime Minister all the time. We have a parliamentary group which meets every day.
‘On Saturday evening, Ben Jamal messaged that this is a terrible time for Dr Abu-Safiya, with messages on social media asking people to alert all their contacts. Do it straight away. The demonstrations and marches are so important. We have to keep on supporting the ICC and the ICJ.
‘Governments of this country and Europe were behind the curve of Trump. But ordinary Americans show their support for Palestine in demonstrations and camps. There is a growth of public opinion against the occupation of Gaza. Zoran Mamdani, helped to awake Americans. You won’t hear it on mainstream media.
‘The MoD has been complicit with the bombing of Iran – US bombers taking off from British airfields. The RAF uses the Akrotiri base in Cyprus to launch surveillance flights over Gaza. Weapons production for Israel takes place in the UK.
‘We will continue this campaign till Palestine is free.’ The chairwoman of the Socialist Health Association, Rathi Guhadasan, said how in 2024, Dr Abu Safiya, a paediatrician in a white coat, was last seen walking towards an Israeli armed vehicle. He was the director of Kemal Adwan hospital, when it withstood a five-day siege. He buried his own son.
‘18 months ago he was detained as an “Unlawful Combatant”. One month ago the Israel Supreme Court sentenced him to further months in prison. He suffers daily violence and beatings.
‘On 2nd July he was moved to the Rakefet facility with hands and feet shackled. His lawyer found him drifting in an out of consciousness with difficulty breathing.
‘Doctors, hospital and ambulance workers are not combatants. 1,500 healthcare colleagues have been killed. In Gaza, Syria, and Myanmar these attacks on health workers are usually from state actors. Health facilities have to prove they are not military. To target healthcare is to target the whole population.
‘The Foreign Secretary must demand his release and urgent medical care. This government is diverting billions into defence spending.
‘Every medical union must demand his release. A doctor’s duty is to save lives. Our duty is to save him.’
Chris Nineham from ‘Stop the War Coalition said: ‘What is happening to Dr Hussam is symbolic of the Israeli state. The repression of the Palestinian people continues unabated and is being met with the courage and resilience of the Palestinian people.
‘For all the horrors, these are the last dark days of Keir Starmer. One of the reasons he was forced to resign, is his collusion with genocide and the resistance of the protest movement.
‘The NATO talks in Turkey are all about Ukraine and not about Palestine and Israel. These are cold calculated interests, with Israel attacking Lebanon and Syria. The Western Powers will continue to support Israel, militarily, politically and diplomatically.
The talk of “security” is all about supporting Trump wars and only makes the world a more dangerous place. Health and social care are attacked. The resistance is growing with 3000 activists across Europe calling for mass protest on 10th October. There is a Palestine demonstration on 18th July. We will tell the new PM to stop arming Israel and Sanctions now.’
RMT workplace rep, Mr Edward said: ‘What happened to Dr Abu -Safiya was not a one-off event. 160 healthcare workers are in prison, and over 1,500 killed, decimating hospitals and clinics.
‘The war crimes in Gaza, Venezuela, Iran and Cuba are met in silence. Imperialist states are throwing their weight around. More than 3,000 people in the UK have been arrested under anti- terrorism laws.
‘The RMT has always opposed repression, such as apartheid and the Pinochet regime.
‘Today, they try to make BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) illegal. We don’t want a world of gangster states. Free Palestine.’
Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan who worked in paediatric ICU, (intensive care unit ) worked for many years in Palestine. She said: ‘Healthcare has been a systemic target. Colleagues say we represent life and we have the will to live. You had to take off your scrubs (uniform) or be targeted. 5 of the 6 paediatric ICUs in Gaza have been destroyed.
‘Dr Abu-Safiya has been in prison for over 550 days. Before detention he appealed to the international community. He persisted and refused to leave after 50 attacks on his hospital with drones, bombs and shrapnel. I witnessed a one-year-old with multiple holes in their bowel. We were subject to so much brutality. Day after day, workers were led out and stripped. Hospitals burned down. Hundreds have been tortured. At least six have died of it.
‘At Al Shifa hospitals, there was a siege of our department. There were 13 doctors in the Emergency Dept. All were tortured. Six were injured or arrested. Some were killed.
‘It is with disbelief that despite all these crimes being documented, this government stood impotent. Dr Abu-Safiya appealed for international help.
‘The General Medical Council is taking Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah to trial in the UK. He is being witch-hunted to try and silence him.’
Tareq Alibadi from the Palestinian Forum ended by saying: ‘Act today. We need action now. Every hour matters. Keep marching. Wear the red ribbon. Stop bombing hospitals. Stop killing doctors.’
Peter Leary from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said: ‘We demand the immediate release of Dr Abu-Safiya. More than 9,000 Palestinians are detained in Israeli prisons, and subjected to violence, torture and abuse.
‘Dr Safiya was an expert paediatrician and neo-natalist who directed the Kemal Adwan Hospitals. He came from a refugee family displaced in the 1950s.
‘Israel said it would allow him and a few others to leave. He stayed, to care for his patients. He had a commitment to his homeland. Why torture him in their dungeons? Hamish Faulkner is raising his case with the Israeli authorities. There should be an arms embargo.
‘The new PM must break with this. The march for Palestine is on Saturday the 18th July.’
