On November 7, 2023, Israeli security forces arrested Palestinian Huthifa Abu Jamous at his home in the village of Abu Dis, 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of Jerusalem, the freelance journalist told CPJ after he was released on September 5, 2024.
He told CPJ in an interview on September 19, 2025, that soldiers handcuffed him and took him to Etzion prison, south of Bethlehem, and moved him to the West Bank’s Ofer prison four days later.
Abu Jamous, who contributes to the Ramallah-based privately owned news agency Quds News Network and Jerusalem-based Al-Qastal News, told CPJ that he was beaten during the journey and subjected to physical assault and insults during questioning.
The military prosecutor accused Abu Jamous of incitement on social media, and of being a Hamas supporter who posed a security threat to the area, according to a copy of the military detention order, reviewed by CPJ.
Abu Jamous’s lawyer, Moataz Shqirat, rejected the prosecutor’s claims, and said the journalist had never been convicted of any crime, according to legal documents, reviewed by CPJ.
The judge said in the detention order that he had received a classified intelligence file that confirmed the need to place Abu Jamous in administrative detention.
Abu Jamous told CPJ that he was accused of incitement and supporting the war in Gaza, and that he was placed in administrative detention for six months, which was later extended by four months.
Israel’s practice of administrative detention allows a military commander to detain an individual without charge, typically for six months, on the grounds of preventing them from committing a future offense. Administrative detention can be extended an unlimited number of times.
He told CPJ after his release that he lost 18 kilograms (40 pounds) during his 10-month detention due to what he described as “Israeli prison starvation policies.”
Abu Jamous was previously arrested in 2018.
He was among the journalists whose 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 in the report, 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 the report. 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.”