RSF demands the Israeli army release all arbitrarily detained Palestinian journalists
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the release of all the Palestinian media professionals arbitrarily detained by the Israeli authorities. Most of them were arrested and imprisoned during the Israeli army offensive in Gaza following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.
Alaa Al Rubuii (علاء الربعي) - Hebron
Context : Originally from Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, independent journalist Alaa al-Rubuii was arrested on 19 October 2023, by the Israeli armed forces.
Alaa Al-Rimawi - his home before going to Ofer Prison
Context : The founder of J-Media turned himself in to Ofer prison on 19 October 2023 after Israeli armed forces raided his home in Ramallah. The journalist had already been detained three times prior to his current period of incarceration.
Alaa al-Sarraj (علاء السراج) - Gaza
Context : The journalist and cameraman for the Palestinian state-run agency Alray was arrested by Israeli armed forces on 1 December 2023 on Salah el-Dine street, in the south of Gaza City, during his forced displacement from the north to the south of the besieged Strip.
Amine Daoud Rubay'a (أمين داود ربايعة) - Bethlehem
Context : Freelance journalist Amine Daoud Rubay’a was arrested by Israeli forces in Bethlehem, a city in the occupied West Bank, on 5 December 2023.
Amjad Arafat (امجد عرفات) - Maghazi camp in the center of the Gaza Strip
Context : A journalist for Ain News, Amjad Arafat was detained in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza on 12 January 2024. His family and friends have had no news of him since his arrest.
Belal Hamed al-Tawil (بلال حامد الطويل) - Hebron
Context : On 29 May 2024, Israeli forces arrested the freelance journalist at his home in Hebron, a city in the West Bank. The Israeli army had already arrested him on 11 July 2018, when they raided his home without citing charges, confiscated his computer, and released him 17 days later.
Bilal Muhammad Hassan Arman (بلال عرمان) - his home in the town of Kharbatha Bani Harith, west of Ramallah
Context : On Friday, 27 October 2023, the Israeli armed forces arrested freelance journalist Bilal Muhammad Hassan Arman at his home in Kharbatha Bani Harith, a town west of Ramallah, and took him to an unknown location.
Emad Zakaria Badr al-Ifranji (عماد زكريا الفرنجية) - his home near Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza
Context : The 55-year-old director of the news site Watan, was arrested by the Israeli forces at his home, near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on 19 March 2024.
Context : A student and freelance reporter, Hamza Zyoud was arrested by the Israeli army in Jenin, a city in the occupied West Bank, on 11 August 2024. He was interrogated about his journalism during the arrest.
Hani Issa (هاني عيسى) - Beit Lahya, north of the Gaza Strip
Context : The family and friends of journalist Hani Issa, editor-in-chief of Quds Net, have had no news of him since he was arrested in an ambush by Israeli forces in Beit Lahya, a city in northern Gaza, on 7 December 2023.
Context : A journalist and cameraman, Hazem Nasser was arrested in Tulkarem, a city in the occupied West Bank, on 27 July 2024. In June 2023, he was injured by the shots of an Israeli soldier while reporting in Jenin, another city in the West Bank.
Ibrahim Al-Zuhairi (إبراهيم الزهيري) - Burhan, near Ramallah
Context : On 18 November 2023, the Israeli arrested the freelance journalist after blowing up the door of his family's home in the village of Barham, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Lama Ghosheh (لمى غوشة) - East Jerusalem
Context : The reporter for al-Qastal News was put under house arrest in East Jerusalem by the Israeli authorities after her arrest on 13 September 2022 and was banned from posting on social media. Her house arrest was renewed on 20 February 2023 with no scheduled hearing date.
Mahmoud Adel Barakat (محمود عادل بركات) - the village of Barqa, on the outskirts of Ramallah
Context : Israeli forces arrested journalist Mahmoud Adel Barakat on 19 May 2024 following a raid on his home in Barqa, a village on the outskirts of Ramallah, the capital of the occupied West Bank.
Mahmoud Fatafta (محمود فطافطة) - Abu Dis in occupied West Bank
Context : On 29 May 2024, the media professor and political commentator who frequently contributed to the Watan Media Network was arrested at a checkpoint near Abu Dis, a village in the occupied West Bank, as he travelled to Tarqumiyah, a town near Hebron, with his son.
Mamoun al-Halabi (مؤمن الحلبي) - Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza
Context : According to RSF information, the freelance journalist was arrested by Israeli armed forces on 12 November 2023, in a corridor of the al-Shifa Hospital as he covered the hospital’s evacuation.
Mohammad al-Rimawi (محمد الريماوي) - his home in the village of Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah
Context : Israeli forces arrested Mohammad al-Rimawi, a journalist for the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, during a raid on his home in Beit Rima, a village near Ramallah, on 22 December 2023.
Context : The freelance journalist — who had been detained for eight months and released in August 2019 on medical leave — was arrested again after being summoned for interrogation by the Palestinian Authority's intelligence services, who handed him over to the Israeli authorities.
Omar Nasr Al-Rub - his home in the al-Irsal neighborhood in Ramallah
Context : The journalist for local network Palestine Times was arrested by the Israeli armed forces at his home in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, on 1 April 2022 and sentenced to six months' administrative detention. His detention was renewed at the end of September 2022.
Rajai Hamad - East Jerusalem
Context : Journalist, filmmaker and photographer for Palestine TV, he was arrested by Israeli armed forces at a checkpoint in the occupied city of East Jerusalem on 28 March 2022.
Sabri Jibril (صبري جبريل) - his home near Bethlehem
Context : The cameraman and photojournalist for J-Media was arrested on 15 October 2023 at his home near Bethlehem, a city in the occupied West Bank. He was previously detained by the Israeli armed forces in November 2022 after covering their assault in the West Bank.
Shady Abu Sedo - Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza
Context : The journalist was arrested by the Israeli forces while covering events at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on 19 March 2024. He is still detained in an Israeli military base in the Negev desert, according to RSF information.
Somaya Jawabra - Huwara, in a camp south of Nablus
Context : Arrested on 5 November 2023, the Palestinian Information Center journalist has been under indefinite house arrest in the Huwara camp, near the city of Nablus in the West Bank, since 22 November 2023. She is also banned from speaking out on social media and to the press.
Yazan Jafar Abu Salah (يزن أبو صلاح) - Jenin
Context : The freelance photographer was arrested on 19 January 2020 at a checkpoint in the north of the occupied West Bank. After two years of administrative detention — where he was tortured — he was sentenced to four years in prison.
