On January 25, 2024, Israeli security forces arrested Palestinian journalist Ali Abu Shariaa, 48, head of sports news for the Gaza bureau of the Palestinian Authority–funded Palestine TV, at an Israeli checkpoint as he and his family fled western Khan Yunis for Rafah. He told CPJ that soldiers seized his belongings, including his passport and money.
He said Israeli forces ordered him to strip, beat him, and tied his hands with plastic cuffs, blindfolded him, and forced him to kneel in the cold for hours alongside other detainees. He said that he was then transported to an unknown location and interrogated. Following interrogation, he was transferred to another facility where he remained handcuffed and blindfolded for the entirety of his detention. He told CPJ in an interview on September 10, 2024 that he was subjected to daily beatings, verbal abuse, humiliation, and severe sleep deprivation. He added that food rations were extremely minimal, causing him to lose 18 kilograms. He described experiencing severe psychological abuse, including soldiers manipulating weapons in earshot while he remained blindfolded, giving him the impression he was about to be executed. Israeli forces released Abu Shariaa on February 16, 2024, after 23 days in custody.
CPJ routinely contacts the Israel Defense Forces' North America Media Desk about its arrests of journalists. In one 2024 response the IDF said it detains ‘individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity,' but has either provided no evidence or unsubstantiated evidence to CPJ to support these suspicions. CPJ has also contacted the Israeli Prison Service, the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, and Shin Bet about Palestinian journalists arrested in the West Bank but did not receive any replies.