Israeli soldiers arrest two Palestinian journalists

On October 10, 2012, Israeli soldiers raided the home of Mohammed Atallah al-Tamimi, a Palestinian journalist for the private Tamimi Press Agency in the West Bank town of Nabi Saleh, according to news reports. Al-Tamimi was arrested and taken to an unknown location, news reports said. Authorities have not disclosed his whereabouts, condition, or the charges against him.

Al-Tamimi, 24, covered weekly demonstrations against settlement expansions in Nabi Saleh, news reports said.

Israeli authorities arrested another Palestinian journalist on June 3, 2012. Soldiers detained Sharif al-Rjoub, a journalist for the Jerusalem-based Al-Aqsa Radio station, after raiding his home in the southern West Bank town of Hebron, according to news reports. Al-Rjoub was taken to the Ofer administrative detention center, news reports said.

Al-Rjoub is the Hebron correspondent for Al-Aqsa and covers daily news about the Israeli occupation of the West bank–in particular, settlement expansion in the area, anti-settlement demonstrations, and Israeli arrests of Palestinian prisoners–Hassan al-Dirawi, head of the news section at Al-Aqsa, told CPJ.

During the three months of his detention, al-Rjoub has appeared in front of a military court once, but his hearing was postponed, according to al-Dirawi. No charges have been brought against him yet. Under administrative detention procedures, authorities may hold detainees for six months without charge or trial and then extend the detention an unlimited number of times.