Palestinian female journalist re-arrested after previous release in exchange deal

Palestinian journalist Bushra al-Taweel has been re-arrested by Israeli forces, marking another chapter in a detention history spanning 15 years.

Al-Taweel was detained last Friday at a military checkpoint near Ramallah in the central West Bank. She was transferred to the al-Maskubiya interrogation centre before being moved to a women’s prison, according to local sources.

Her re-arrest came roughly a year after her release in January 2025 as part of a prisoner exchange deal that included female detainees held in Israeli prisons.

The detention also follows the re-arrest several months earlier of her father, Jamal al-Taweel, a Hamas figure who had likewise been freed in a prisoner exchange arrangement.

READ: Israeli forces detain journalists, foreign activists in southern West Bank following settler attacks

Al-Taweel graduated in 2013 from the Journalism and Photography programme at the Modern College in Ramallah. She later worked with the Anin al-Qaid Network, a social and media initiative founded by former prisoners to raise awareness about detainees’ rights. She served as the network’s spokesperson and helped organise events focused on prisoner advocacy.

A human rights defender, al-Taweel has documented Israeli violations against Palestinian prisoners and campaigned in support of detainees and their families.

She has previously spent more than five years in Israeli prisons. Her first arrest took place on 6 July 2011, when she was 18, and she was sentenced to 16 months. She was later released as part of the 2011 “Wafa al-Ahrar” (Loyalty of the Free) prisoner exchange agreement.

READ: Israel says opening Rafah crossing does not mean journalists can enter Gaza