Amman, November 5, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply alarmed by the rapid escalation of journalist detentions by Israeli authorities, with four journalists detained in the first four days of November, two of whom remain in Israeli custody.
On November 2, Israeli soldiers arrested Radio Hawa presenter Samer Khuwaira from his home in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, and was taken to the Huwwara Detention Center and then to the Salem Detention Center. According to his lawyer in an interview with CPJ, the journalist will likely face administrative detention without any charges. This follows a previous nine-month administrative detention where Khuwaira says he was subjected to torture.
On November 3, Israeli soldiers detained Al Jazeera correspondent Montaser Nassar for hours after he was taken from his home in Dura, near Hebron.
Nassar told CPJ that Israeli soldiers “blew up” his front door and blindfolded him. He added that soldiers subjected him and nearby detainees to verbal abuse, spitting on anyone who moved while threatening that “Hebron would face the same fate as Gaza.”
That night, Israeli police arrested Arab48 podcast presenter and journalist Abed Abu Shehadeh and accused him of “contacting a foreign agent” after conducting an interview with exiled Palestinian intellectual Azmi Bishara in Qatar. The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Magistrate’s Court extended his detention until Sunday, November 8, his wife told CPJ.
On November 4, Israeli soldiers detained Hazem Nasser for hours in an undisclosed military complex near Tulkarem, in the occupied West Bank. This detention comes almost two weeks after his release from Israeli custody following more than two years in prison under an administrative detention order.
Sources who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal told CPJ that Nasser was held in rear handcuffs for seven hours and warned that discussing his detention conditions with the media would result in his arrest.
“Journalists are once again being targeted in a campaign of intimidation and silencing by Israeli authorities, who have repeatedly demonstrated disregard for international law,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “We reiterate our call for the immediate release of all imprisoned Palestinian journalists, and an end to the harassment, intimidation and detention practices aimed at silencing them.”
CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli police for comment on the respective cases, reasonings behind arrests, and detention conditions but did not receive a reply at the time of publication.