The Committee to Support Palestinian Journalists announced on Saturday, April 16, that Israel has detained 43 journalists in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) since October 2015, including two foreign reporters. The New York based committee said in a report that journalists have reported torture, medical negligence, and unreasonable and illegal rulings by the Israeli authorities during their detention and imprisonment.
A member of Israel’s Border Police assaults journalists and medics assembled near Al Bireh, West Bank, October 30, 2015. (Photo: Fadi Arouri)
The committee condemned the increasing number of detentions of journalists, and called for their immediate release. At least four of the 43 journalists were released in February and March, while another 20 – including a female journalist and a media student – either remain in Israeli prisons or have been placed under house arrest. The report also said that three journalists are suffering from medical conditions, among them Bassam al-Sayih, who has been diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer and administrative detainee Ali al-Ewawi who suffers from ulcerative colitis.
The committee added that Palestinian journalist Muhammad al-Qiq is still recovering from his grueling 94-day hunger strike that brought him close to death, and is currently being treated in Israel’s HaEmek Medical Center in Afula.
The journalists’ rights committee released Saturday’s report to commemorate Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, held on April 17 every year, in solidarity with the 7,000 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli prisons. The Israeli crackdown on media organizations and journalists in particular has been part of a systematic policy that often designates outlets affiliated with Palestinian political parties as terrorist organizations, according to Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer.
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