49 Palestinian Journalists Held in Israeli Jails: PPS
Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- The total number of Palestinian journalists currently in Israeli jails has reached 49, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said, adding that Israeli forces have arrested at least 177 reporters since the start of the genocide in Gaza.
Israeli “authorities continue to escalate their targeting of Palestinian journalists through systematic arrests, in addition to daily targeting of journalists while they are performing their work”, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Journalists are subjected to all the systematic crimes faced by prisoners, including starvation, medical crimes, torture, and numerous forms of abuse.”
As of today, there are 19 journalists under administrative detention, a practice used only by Israel, which allows its authorities to detain someone without charge or trial, it added.
The PPS statement came after Israeli forces arrested this morning journalist Ali al-Samoudi after raiding his house in Jenin city.
According to local sources, the forces raided al-Samoudi’s house in the Al-Zahraa neighborhood, ransacked the property, damaged several belongings, and took him away handcuffed, transporting him to an unknown location.
Al-Samoudi is well known for his coverage of events and Israeli attacks in Jenin. He has been injured several times by Israeli gunfire, most notably during Israel’s deliberate killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022. At the time, he was accompanying her and other colleagues during coverage of an Israeli military raid into the Jenin refugee camp.
Palestinian journalists continue to face frequent violations by Israeli forces amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza and repeated military raids in the West Bank.
According to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), 15 Palestinian journalists were killed by Israeli forces in the first quarter of this year alone.
The PJS also reported that Israeli forces destroyed 12 journalists’ homes with missiles and shells, and seriously injured 11 others.
A report by the syndicate’s Freedom Committee noted that around 117 journalists—mostly in the West Bank—were assaulted, suppressed, or prevented from reporting, especially in occupied Jerusalem and Jenin. In addition, work equipment was confiscated or destroyed in 16 documented cases.
Israel has also targeted journalists in the war-torn Gaza Strip, killing at least 212 media workers since the assault began in October 2023, in what Gaza’s Government Media Office describes as an attempt to prevent coverage of crimes.
