Six Female Journalists in Israeli Jails

Attacks on Palestinian journalists have always been widespread. The Israeli authorities frequently charge Palestinian media workers with “incitement” and imprison them as “administrative detainees” based on claimed “secret evidence”.

Both of these charges are bogus and are aimed to prevent the journalists from exposing the Israeli crimes.

Like other detainees journalists held in Israeli prisons suffer from torture, beatings, humiliation and torture. As well, they are deprived from any form of communication with the outside world.

There are currently six Palestinian female journalists held in Israeli prisons and are not due to be released ant time soon while enduring the violence of the Israeli guards.

They are Bushra Al Taweel from Ramallah. This is her 5th arrest in three years and today she is held in administrative detention for six months under the instruction of the Israeli Shin Bet.

Then follows Ikhlas Saleh Sawalha. She was arrested at a military checkpoint in Dier Sharaf. Her arrest is due to the fact that her husband, journalist Ibrahim Abu Safiya has been in Ofer prison since 2022.

Ikhlas has been arbitrarly detained since December, 2023 with under an administrative detention that is renewed almost automatically.

Then comes journalist Rula Hassanein from Ramallah. She is also under administrative detention that is being routinely renewed.

Rula has a baby which has refused her food and milk without her mother leading to her dehydration. Therefore, doctors had to intervene and administer intravenous injections.

Then there is journalist Asmaa Harish. Israeli soldiers stormed her home in Beitunia, west of Ramallah, last April and took her away. She is presently in prison under administrative detention.

Her case is related to the fact she is the daughter of Noah Harish and her brother Ahmad who are in an Israeli jail.

Then there is 39-year-old Rasha Herzallah. She is being detained for what the Israeli authorities claim incitement on social media platforms.

She is the sister of Mohammad Herzallah, a journalist at the Wafa news agency. He was shot by Israeli soldiers in Nablus in 2022 and four months later he succumbed to his wounds and died.

Finally, student Amal Al Shujaiya was taken from her home in Dier Jarir, east Ramallah, late at night by Israel soldiers. She is being detained awaiting a military court hearing. Amal is journalism student at Birzeit University in Ramallah.

“She is living a big space of emptiness in our house,” her mother said.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Palestinian Journalists Under Attack – 55 Israeli Violations in May

The Palestinian Journalists Association (PJA) announced, Monday, it documented 55 violations by Israeli occupation soldiers against Palestinian journalists in last May. It described such violations are part of a  systematic policy to restrict and prevent West Bank and Gaza journalists to carry out their professional duties.

The PJA’s Freedoms Committee said in a press statement to Quds Press the Israeli occupation continues its violations against journalists and media workers to limit their ability to report the truth and document attacks and violations against Palestinians.

The documented violations during May included two injuries from live ammunition while covering events in the field, two arbitrary arrests, and 30 cases of detention and prevention from working and covering events.

The committee also recorded five cases of direct gunfire directed at journalists, five attacks using tear gas and stun grenades, in addition to two cases of confiscation of journalistic equipment and two cases of physical assault on journalists.

The violations include two cases of journalists being barred from covering news at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, one of a media outlet being raided and shut down, another of a journalist being brought before a court and three cases of journalists summoned and interrogated.

The committee affirmed that these practices constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and international covenants on freedom of opinion and expression, which stipulate the protection of journalists while performing their professional duties in conflict zones.

It added that the escalating targeting of journalists reflects a systematic approach aimed at restricting media coverage and preventing the dissemination of information about the reality and violations suffered by the Palestinian people. The committee noted that the occupation continues to use various means to suppress media work and obstruct the public’s access to information.

The Committee for Freedoms called on international human rights and media organizations, as well as the United Nations, to uphold their legal and moral responsibilities, pressure the occupation authorities to cease their ongoing violations against Palestinian journalists, hold those responsible accountable, and provide the necessary protection for media workers.

The PJA announced last May it documented nearly 300 Israeli crimes, violations, and attacks against Palestinian journalists since the beginning of 2026 and the trend is set to continue judging from the scale of esclation against media workers.

The press association indicated at the time the number of journalists killed reached 262 since the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, including 261 journalists murdered in the Gaza Strip, in addition to six journalists killed since the beginning of 2026.

This comes at a time when Israeli attacks against Palestinians continue in various areas, amid increasing complaints about the targeting of journalists, the obstruction of their work, and the prevention of their coverage of events on the ground and their reporting to the public.

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