ISRAELI FORCES RELEASE AP REPORTER



New York, April 18, 2002
—Mohammed Daraghmeh, an Associated Press (AP) correspondent detained by Israeli forces on Tuesday morning, was released on Tuesday evening but did not arrive at home until yesterday, according to the AP.

Daraghmeh, who was rounded up along with 30 other men during a sweep in the West Bank town of Nablus, was released late Tuesday night from an Israeli army base six miles from his home. He was unable to reach his residence due to the curfew in Nablus.

As Daraghmeh made his trek back home, Israeli soldiers threatened and harassed him, he told the AP.

Daraghmeh has been covering the northern West Bank for the AP since 1996. He also writes for the Palestinian daily Al-Ayam.

Last week, Israeli forces arrested several Palestinian journalists in Bethlehem and another in Ramallah.