Israel Holds 31 Palestinian Journalists Arbitrarily Detained

January 9, 2024 Hour: 10:39 am

On Tuesday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) accused Israel of wanting to silence the Palestinian press and denounced that the Israeli occupation forces have arrested 31 journalists and murdered 80 journalists since October 7.

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So far, 29 journalists have been kidnapped in the West Bank, one in Gaza and another in East Jerusalem. Although none of the Palestinian journalists have been formally charged, they remain secretly locked in prisons where they cannot receive visitors.

Since the beginning of the offensive against Gaza, Israel has used “administrative detention” as a procedure to keep Palestinians incommunicado for six-month periods, which are usually extended indefinitely with a simple court order.

The Israeli authorities have applied this procedure to 19 journalists and accuse another 10 of “incitement to violence” and “false” accusations.

“My termination is not about me personally but about the suppression of every pro-Palestinian voice in Western legacy newsrooms.”

Canadian Palestinian journalist Zahraa Al-Akhrass talks about getting fired over her social media posts supporting Palestine ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/XPNE5Kgsqp

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)
January 7, 2024

All of the arrested journalists are freelancers or work for Palestinian media outlets such as J-Media, Maan News Agency, Sanad and Radio al-Karama.

“The intimidation, terror and relentless attempts to silence Palestinian journalism, whether through arbitrary arrests, bullets or bombs, must stop,” said Jonathan Dagher, RSF’s Middle East bureau chief.

“Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate release of all detained journalists and the urgent protection of all journalists Palestinians,” he added.

Among the latest examples of Israeli violence, RSF mentioned the case of a correspondent for Al Araby Al Jadeed, Diaa al Kahlout, who was released after being subjected to torture during a month of arbitrary detention.

#FromTheSouth News Bits | Palestinians detained by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip are subjected to “systematic torture and inhumane treatment.” pic.twitter.com/xpxHf42hcG

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)
January 8, 2024