GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Palestinian cancer patient Amal al-Rifi, 60, was scheduled to receive her fifth chemotherapy session on October 21, but Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested her just one day before the appointment, along with her daughter Yasmin, while they were returning from a medical trip to Egypt.
Since her arrest, al-Rifi has been unable to resume cancer treatment, receiving only medication for high blood pressure and diabetes while in Israeli detention, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS).
In a joint statement on Tuesday, the two organizations demanded the immediate release of al-Rifi and her 33-year-old daughter, holding Israeli authorities fully responsible for their lives and warning that continued detention and the interruption of the mother’s cancer treatment pose a serious threat to her health.
The statement was based on testimony provided by the two women during their first legal visit at Damon Prison.
According to their accounts, Israeli forces arrested them on October 20 and transferred them to Ashkelon Prison, where they remained until October 29 and were subjected to interrogation before being moved to Damon Prison.
The two organizations said al-Rifi had completed four chemotherapy sessions in Egypt before her arrest prevented her from receiving the fifth session as scheduled.
Despite her cancer diagnosis and urgent need for specialized medical care, she has not been able to resume treatment since entering Israeli detention.
The organizations reported that medical samples had been collected from al-Rifi at Damon Prison and that she had been informed of an approval for treatment.
However, her transfer to a hospital remained subject to further authorization, with no actual progress recorded by the time of the first visit.
As a result, the reported approval has yet to translate into medical care, leaving her chemotherapy suspended and raising serious concerns about her life.
The Commission and PPS warned that delaying essential cancer treatment could expose al-Rifi to severe health complications and further deterioration.
According to figures available to Palestinian prisoners’ rights organizations, Amal and Yasmin al-Rifi are the only two women from the Gaza Strip among 90 Palestinian female prisoners held in Israeli detention facilities. Their arrest has subjected both mother and daughter to prolonged uncertainty and hardship.
After traveling outside Gaza for medical treatment, they were taken into custody, interrogated and transferred between prisons, while al-Rifi’s access to chemotherapy remained dependent on administrative procedures that had not resulted in her hospitalization.
The organizations stressed that the continued detention of al-Rifi and the denial of necessary medical treatment place her life at genuine risk.
They held Israeli authorities responsible for any deterioration in her health and reiterated their demand for the immediate release of both women.
The Commission and PPS also called for measures to ensure that al-Rifi can resume her cancer treatment without further delay.
With her fifth chemotherapy session missed and her hospital transfer still pending, the organizations emphasized that protecting her life requires actual access to medical treatment, not merely notification that it has been approved.
