1. Who are Dr. Mazen Rantisi and Mr. Tayseer Abu Shalbak?

Dr. Mazen Rantisi is widely respected throughout Palestine and beyond for his lifelong commitment to providing care to those most in need. Known by many as the "doctor of the poor and marginalized," he has dedicated his professional life to serving patients regardless of their social or economic circumstances. His arrest is not merely an attack on a physician; it is an attack on a health leader and a defender of health as a fundamental human right.

Tayseer Abu Shalbak, HWC's Financial Director, was arrested by Israeli Occupying Forces in March 2021 and spent approximately 16 months in prison before being released in June 2022. His detention took place in the context of a broader crackdown on Palestinian civil society organisations and personnel, including organisations working in the fields of health, human rights and development.

2. What happened? 

In the early hours of 21 June 2026, Israeli forces raided the homes of Dr. Mazen Rantisi, Chair of the Board of Health Work Committees (HWC), and Tayseer Abu Shalbak, HWC’s Financial Director, and arrested them in Ramallah. The two men were then taken to HWC’s headquarters in Ramallah, where Israeli Occupying Forces searched the offices for approximately one hour before posting a military order closing the organization’s headquarters for one year.

Almost exactly five years after the arrest of former Health Work Committees director Shatha Odeh, who spent 11 months in Israeli prison on politically motivated charges, Israeli Occupying Forces have once again targeted one of Palestine’s most important health organizations.

These arrests are not isolated incidents. They form part of a longstanding pattern of harassment, criminalization, and repression directed at Palestinian civil society organizations and health institutions operating under unlawful military occupation and apartheid. Health Work Committees is one of the most prominent Palestinian non-profit healthcare providers, serving communities that are often marginalized, impoverished, and underserved. For decades, HWC has played a vital role in advancing access to healthcare and defending the right to health for Palestinians living under occupation. Founded in 1985, HWC operates seven clinics and five women’s centres across the West Bank, providing primary, emergency and specialised healthcare, as well as psychosocial, legal and gender-based violence support programmes for women and girls, with a particular focus on marginalized communities.

3. The Campaign

The People’s Health Movement unequivocally denounces the arrests of Dr. Mazen Rantisi and Tayseer Abu Shalbak and the closure order imposed on HWC´s headquarters.

We call for:
•    The immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Mazen Rantisi and Tayseer Abu Shalbak
•    The immediate reversal of the closure order against HWC
•    Protection of Palestinian health workers and healthcare institutions from attacks, harassment, and arbitrary detention
•    International accountability for violations of the right to health and attacks on healthcare under occupation
•    Sustained international solidarity with Palestinian civil society and health organizations

The right to health cannot exist where health workers are imprisoned, health institutions are shut down, and communities are denied access to care. The international community must not remain silent. Defending Palestinian health workers is inseparable from defending the Palestinian people’s right to health, dignity, self-determination, and freedom.

Statement by the People's Health Movement

Free Dr. Mazen Rantisi and Mr. Tayseer Abu Shalbak

71-year-old Palestinian 'Doctor of the Poor' Arrested in Overnight Border Police Raid

Dr. Mazen Rantisi also serves as chairman of the Union of Health Committees. Next week, a military judge is expected to rule for the first time on his release or the extension of his detention

Israeli occupation forces detain seven Palestinians in Ramallah

WAFA Archive