Activists circulated on social media platforms news of the arrest of Palestinian poet Musab Abu Toha by Israeli forces during his exodus with his wife and children to southern Gaza.
PEN America expressed concern about the news of the detention of Musab, the founder of the only English-language library and winner of many literary awards, and said that it was seeking more details about him, and called for his protection.
PEN America is concerned by reports that poet Mosab Abu Toha, the founder of Gaza’s only English language library, has been taken into custody by Israel’s Defense Forces in Gaza. We are seeking more details and call for his protection.
Our 2022 interview: https://t.co/rn1szUZVCR
— PEN America (@PENamerica) November 20, 2023
His brother, Hamza Mustafa Abu Toha, confirmed the news of his arrest in a tweet in which he said, “The army took him when he arrived at the checkpoint, leaving from north to south. His wife and children entered the south, while the army arrested my brother, and we know nothing about him, knowing that the American embassy sent him and his family to travel.” Through the Rafah crossing, I hope that one of Musab’s foreign friends will contact the Red Cross.”
I am Musab’s brother. The army took Musab when he arrived at the checkpoint, leaving from the north to the south, which he ordered the army to move to. His wife and children entered the south and the army arrested my brother Musab, and we know nothing about him, knowing that the American embassy sent him and his family to travel through the Rafah crossing. If One of Musab’s friends… pic.twitter.com/a0sDxw6tlo
– Hamza Mustafa Abu Toha (@HamzaAbuToha) November 20, 2023
Musab had written an article in the New Yorker newspaper in which he described the harsh scenes of the war on Gaza, and the homes that turned into rubble overnight, telling the stories of his children shaking from the sound of bombs and their fears of death.
Friends and members of the Abu Toha family, bloggers, and activists expressed their deep concern on platforms about Musab’s disappearance, and their hopes for his release.
In 2019 I was a fellow resident in an artist’s program at Harvard. One of my co fellows was Palestinian poet and writer @MosabAbuToha together with his family they told the world about life, survival, beauty and pain in Gaza. Mosab is one of those people you can’t stop>> pic.twitter.com/4KWXgG2vcM
— Noam Shuster Eliassi (@ShusterNoam) November 21, 2023
Artist Amal Jaith tweeted, “Palm America demands the protection of Musab and all those who contribute to literature and intellectual discourse.”
“Since Musab was kidnapped from his family, no one has heard from him since,” digital editor Laura Albast said. “I still remember that just two months ago, Musab and I were talking about literature in a café in Philadelphia, and he showed me pictures of his adorable children. I implore my Massachusetts representatives to… “Something, and to return Musab.”
Palestinian Poet Mosab Abu Toha Allegedly Kidnapped by Israeli Forces in Southern Gaza.
It’s concerning to hear about poet Mosab Abu Toha’s detention.@PENamerica ‘s call for his protection highlights the importance of safeguarding the rights of individuals, especially those who… pic.twitter.com/6VyBbcizx1— AMAL JITH (@AmaljithRamesan) November 20, 2023
Adwaa Al-Madina publishing house spoke on the “X” platform about a proposal that had previously been submitted at Harvard University, for those concerned to contact a lawyer from Boston called Sami Al-Nabulsi, to refer the matter to high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
IDF arrested Gaza’s most prominent poet Mosab Abu Toha. He wrote this haunting essay about the war for the New Yorker. PEN America has called for his immediate release.https://t.co/VMuSnLdM87
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) November 20, 2023
News about Israel’s kidnapping of the Palestinian poet and writer Musab Abu Toha during his exodus with his wife and children to southern Gaza. Musab recently won the Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry, and here is an article of his published by The New Yorker last October about the situation in Gaza.https://t.co/L4eQnTmmjY
— Mansoura Ez-Eldin (@MansouraEzEldin) November 20, 2023
