On February 5, 2026, Israeli soldiers arrested freelance journalist Hatem Hamdan while he was traveling through the Ein Siniya checkpoint near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. He was subsequently placed under administrative detention for four months and released by Israeli authorities on October 1 after nearly eight months in detention.
Hamdan’s brother, Ahmed, told CPJ that 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 later verified his brother’s location through Israeli human rights organization HaMoked, which reported that Hamdan was being held at Ofer prison.
On February 18, the Israeli Ofer Military Court upheld an order placing Hamdan under administrative detention for four months, effective from the date of his arrest, Ahmed told CPJ.
Following his release, Hamdan told CPJ that on February 5 Israeli soldiers stopped him at the Ein Siniya checkpoint, approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Ramallah. He was handed over to Israeli police and transferred to the Binyamin Police Station in the Sha’ar Binyamin industrial zone, in the occupied West Bank. “There, they beat me,” Hamdan told CPJ, adding that early on February 6 he was transferred to the interrogation center inside Ofer Complex, near Beitunia, about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) outside Ramallah.
“I remained handcuffed and lying on the ground, and they kept beating me until the evening of February 6,” he said. Hamdan was then moved from the interrogation center to Ofer prison, where he remained until his release, and said he was subjected to several additional assaults.
Hamdan said he appeared twice before the Ofer Military Court via video conference. “The first time was a week after my arrest, and I was sentenced to four months of administrative detention,” he told CPJ. “The second time, my administrative detention was renewed for another four months.” Hamdan said authorities told him he was considered a threat to security, citing his previous detention in 2023. He said, “I was never visited by a lawyer at all.”
Hamdan also said that Israeli prison authorities subjected detainees to food deprivation and medical neglect. “I contracted scabies, and because I was not given medication, it developed into boils all over my body that I am still suffering from even after my release,” he told CPJ. He was taken to a hospital for medical treatment after his release. Hamdan said he weighed 77 kilograms (170 pounds) when he was detained and 60 kilograms (132 pounds) upon his release. “That was a result of the starvation policy practiced by the prison administration,” he said.
Hamdan was also arrested in September 2023 by Palestinian General Intelligence for three days while covering a student protest near Birzeit University, during which he said he was beaten and interrogated about his journalistic work. In October 2022, Palestinian security forces arrested him while he was covering a protest in Ramallah, during which he was reportedly beaten before being detained.
Hamdan was previously arrested on December 16, 2023, at a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank and held for eight months in administrative detention. After his release in August 2024, he told CPJ that during that detention he was severely beaten, including while being transferred between facilities and during interrogations. He said he was placed in a cramped, dark compartment in a prisoner transport vehicle for hours, with cold air conditioning and loud music, while handcuffed and shackled. He added that he was subjected to repeated crackdowns, including severe beatings, being forced to wear clothes soaked in cold water, having mattresses and blankets removed, and being strip-searched, and that he lost 15 kilograms (33 pounds) due to insufficient food.
Hamdan said he appeared before a judge several times by video for appeals processes and extensions to his detention order. He said he was only allowed to meet with his lawyer during court proceedings and was unable to speak with him for long.
Hamdan’s testimony was included in the CPJ special report, “We returned from hell,” published in February 2026, which compiles accounts from 58 journalists who reported patterns of abuse, torture and mistreatment against Palestinian journalists inside Israeli prisons.
The Israeli military did not respond to CPJ’s repeated requests for comment on specific allegations by journalists, instead requesting ID numbers and geographic coordinates that CPJ does not collect or provide. When asked about allegations of physical and sexual abuse, starvation, and the investigation and accountability process, an army spokesperson said “individuals detained are treated in accordance with international law,” adding that the armed forces “have never, and will never, deliberately target journalists,” and that any violations of protocol “will be looked into.”
CPJ also emailed the Israel Prison Service (IPS) regarding the allegations. In response, the IPS said “all prisoners are detained according to the law” and that “all basic rights are fully upheld by professionally trained prison guards.” The service said it was unaware of the claims described, and that to its knowledge “no such events have occurred,” but noted that “prisoners and detainees have the right to file a complaint that will be fully examined and addressed by official authorities.”