Palestinian Prisoners Club: 18 journalists are detained in Israeli jails

The Palestinian Prisoners Club said on Sunday that there are 18 Palestinian journalists currently being held in Israeli jails, including Muhammad Al-Qeq, a journalist who has been on hunger strike for 75 days.

In a press release, the group said that Mahmoud Moussa Issa is the oldest journalist in prison and he is also serving the longest sentence. From the West Bank town of Anata, his arrest pre-dates the signing of the Oslo Accords.

Israeli authorities continue to imprison Issa despite a 2014 agreement stipulating his release in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

Issa, who spent 13 years in solitary confinement, is the author of a number of books and novels. He has been given three life sentences and a fourth sentence of 46 years’ imprisonment.

The statement added that the imprisoned journalists include five university students who were studying mass communication prior to their arrest. The oldest prisoner from this group is Ahmed al-Saifi who has served six of his 17-year prison sentence.

The other students are Amjad Samhan, Mohamed Atta, Hamza Safi and Hammam Attili.

The Israeli authorities are also holding four journalists without charge in administrative detention. They are Mohammed Kaddoumi, Ali Oweiwi, Osama Shaheen and Muhammad Al-Qeq, who has been on hunger strike in protest of his administrative detention.