Rights group: 37 Palestinian journalists being held in Israeli prisons
A Palestinian prisoners' advocacy group says Israel is currently incarcerating 37 Palestinian journalists, including 19 who are being held under administrative detention without facing any charges or trial.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said in a statement on Sunday that all 37 media professionals were abducted after the onset of the Gaza genocide in October 2023.
It reported that Israel continues to target Palestinian members of the press by means of abductions, prison sentences, solitary confinement and legal action, noting that the measures are part of a broader strategy to suppress journalistic activities and freedom of expression.
The most recent abductees include journalists Muath Ammarna and Sabri Jibrin, who were taken into custody on Thursday following a raid by Israeli forces on their residences in Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.
The PPS stated that Ammarna has faced repeated targeting by Israeli authorities, and is currently being held for the third time due to his journalistic activities.
The group also cited the case of journalist and author Mahmoud Fatafta, who received a 48-month prison sentence for what Israel characterizes as “incitement,” marking one of the most severe penalties imposed in comparable cases.
It stated that Israeli officials are progressively utilizing charges of "incitement" against journalists, in conjunction with administrative detention founded on what the authorities refer to as “secret files.”
Currently, nineteen journalists from the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds, are being held under administrative detention, representing 51% of all abducted journalists, the group added.
It also drew attention to the case of journalist Bushra al-Tawil, 33, who was relocated from Damon Prison in the northern part of the Israeli-occupied lands to solitary confinement at Ramla Prison in the central side of the territories.
The PPS slammed Israeli authorities over escalating isolation and implementing additional restrictive measures against female Palestinian prisoners, in addition to food deprivation, denial of medical care, and inadequate sanitation conditions.
The society stated that the abducted journalists endure conditions similar to those of other Palestinian inmates, including hunger, medical neglect, torture, mistreatment, solitary confinement, and the denial of fundamental rights.
The group highlighted that journalists face threats such as killings, enforced disappearances, and direct assaults while performing their duties.
It described these actions as part of a systematic strategy designed to limit Palestinian reporting and the documentation of Israeli crimes and violations.
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