Israel has arrested 46 journalists since 7 October, says prisoners’ rights group

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club (PPC) said on Monday that Israeli occupation forces have “arbitrarily” arrested 46 journalists since 7 October. At least 32 are still held in detention.

The organisation noted that 19 journalists have been transferred to administrative detention — being held indefinitely, with neither charge nor trial — under the pretext of having secret evidence, while others have been charged with “incitement on social media platforms”.

According to the PPC statement, some of the journalists were arrested following “incitement campaigns” against them by pro-Israel pages on social media. Journalist Somaya Jawabra, for example, who was arrested while seven months pregnant. Jawabra was later released under harsh conditions, including house arrest for an indefinite period.

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The PPC pointed out that journalist Moaz Amarneh, 36, from Bethlehem, suffers from poor health in Megiddo Prison. He faces systematic retaliatory measures and torture by the Israeli occupation authorities.

“Amarneh has been held under administrative detention since 16 October,” said the PPC. “He has been subjected to abuse and torture, as are all detainees. He suffers from poor vision and a blurring in his right eye.”

The organisation confirmed that as part of the deliberate medical negligence of the Israeli occupation against Palestinian prisoners and detainees, the prison administrators refuse to allow Amarneh to have his artificial eye and spectacles. He lost an eye in 2019 when an Israeli soldier shot him.

“Amarneh suffers from chronic diabetes, which has worsened in light of the prison administration’s implementation of its starvation policy against prisoners,” explained the PPC. “He also suffers from severe pain and headaches due to the extreme cold. Since his arrest, he has not been able to change his clothes; the prison guards seized his other clothes, leaving him with nothing but a light jacket that does not protect him from the extreme cold.”

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