On February 5, 2026, Israeli soldiers arrested freelance journalist Hatem Hamdan while he was traveling through the Ein Siniya checkpoint near Ramallah in the West Bank.
Hamdan’s brother, Ahmed, told CPJ that after the family was unaware of Hatem’s whereabouts for several hours, until an Israeli regional commander contacted him and confirmed that Hamdan was in Israeli custody. Ahmed added that he was later able to confirm the location of his brother’s detention through Israeli human rights organization HaMoked, which reported that Hamdan was being held at Ofer prison.
Hamdan was previously released in August 2024 after spending eight months in Israeli prisons administratively, and he told CPJ that he was subjected to torture during that detention. He was also arrested in 2023 and 2022.
CPJ contacted the Israeli police for comment regarding Hatem Hamdan’s arrest. A police spokesperson confirmed Hamdan’s arrest, justifying it as due to suspicion of “terrorist activity.”