RAMALLAH,(Palestine Foundation Information Center ) The Palestinian Prisoner Society (PPS) said on Thursday that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continue to escalate their campaign of arrests against Palestinian journalists, with the number of those detained now reaching 55.
Among the detainees are 50 journalists who have been arrested since the start of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, including one female journalist.
In its statement, the PPS noted that since October 7, 2023, Israel has pursued an unprecedented policy of targeting media workers with arrests and harassment. A total of 197 journalists have been detained or briefly held since the start of the genocide, the latest being journalist Usaid Ammarneh, who was arrested Wednesday night.
The human rights group stressed that Israel’s systematic targeting of journalists is aimed at silencing voices reporting on its crimes, tightening control over media coverage, and stripping journalists of their right to freedom of expression and to practice their profession. This, it added, comes alongside the direct killings of journalists in Gaza under ongoing IOF aggression.
Most detained journalists are charged with so-called “incitement” on social media or in their reporting, while others are held under administrative detention based on undisclosed “secret files.”
Inside Israeli prisons and detention camps, detained journalists face the same abuses as other Palestinian prisoners: systematic torture, beatings, starvation, medical neglect, humiliation, and degrading treatment, in addition to harsh and inhumane detention conditions.
