Palestine: Record number of arbitrary arrests of Palestinian journalists by Israel

Since the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, 75 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been arrested by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Journalists Association (PJS), 49 of them remain in prison to date, including 20 who were placed in administrative detention. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is alarmed by the record number of arbitrarily arrested journalists as part of Israel’s broader campaign to intimidate them and prevent them from reporting on the military occupation. The IFJ calls on Israel to stop persecuting Palestinian journalists and release them all immediately and unconditionally.

On March 19, 2024, the Israeli security forces arrested Palestinian journalist Rula Hassanein’s laptop and phone were confiscated during a raid on her home in Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank. Hassanein, known for her reporting on the Israeli occupation and human rights abuses, had to leave her nine-month-old baby with her husband.

Hassanein’s story is just one of 75 journalists Israel has arrested since the start of the Gaza war. After October 7, Israeli security forces escalated their practice of detaining Palestinian journalists without charge.

“The aim behind the arrests and Israel’s intensified campaign (…) is to deter journalists and prevent them from representing the voice of the Palestinians. The Israelis are determined to control reporting from the West Bank.”said PJS deputy leader Omar Nazzal in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“Another goal is to intimidate other journalists by creating the impression that anyone who tries to speak is their next target,” Nazzal closed.

The PJS currently registers 20 Palestinian journalists who are in administrative detention, Proceedings which allows the Israeli military to detain prisoners unlimited on the basis of secret information and without charges or trials against them. Israel Used Administrative detention is widespread and routine, and its use to suppress dissidents, including journalists, has intensified since the beginning of the war in Gaza. specified by press freedom organizations.

IFJ Secretary General Anthony Bellanger said: “Israel’s excessive campaign of harassment and persecution of Palestinian journalists in the occupied West Bank is unacceptable and a clear attempt to silence media reporting on the ground. We condemn the increasing persecution of journalists by Israeli security forces and call on them to stop obstructing the work of journalists. We will redouble our efforts in coordination with our member, the Palestinian Journalists Association, to ensure that violence against journalists does not go unpunished.”

So far, at least 102 Palestinian journalists and media workers were killed since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, according to IFJ data.