On May 29, 2024, Israeli security forces arrested Palestinian freelance journalist Bilal Hamid al-Taweel, who contributes to several media outlets including the Qatari-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera Mubasher, at his home in the West Bank city of Hebron, according to news reports, footage of his arrest posted on social media by the Palestinian news outlet Al-Qastal, and the journalist’s brother Hamdan al-Taweel, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app.
The video posted by Al-Qastal on its X account shows two Israeli soldiers taking Al-Taweel, who is blindfolded and handcuffed, to an armored military vehicle.
Hamdan al-Taweel told CPJ that the soldiers seized his brother’s phone and that he currently works for Al Jazeera. Al-Taweel is also very active on Facebook and Instagram, where he posts commentary and videos of the war in Gaza.
According to court documents reviewed by CPJ, Al-Taweel has been charged with incitement and “belonging to a hostile organization.” The indictment cites social media posts, most of which are pictures of Hamas’ cross-border attack on October 7, 2023 that were also widely published in media outlets.
Hamdan al-Taweel said that his brother is being held Ofer prison in the West Bank.
Al-Taweel was arrested in the course of Israel’s recent military operations in the region, which began after the October 7 attack. Israel has killed scores of journalists in Gaza as well as six in Lebanon, jailed dozens of Palestinian journalists from the West Bank and Gaza, and destroyed much of the press infrastructure in Gaza, all while preventing the foreign press from entering Gaza.
According to CPJ research, Israeli forces previously arrested al-Taweel in June 2018. He was released ten days later, according to news reports.
CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces, Israel’s Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet, and the Israeli Prison Service in late 2024 for comment on the cases of imprisoned Palestinian journalists but received no response.