On October 5, 2024, Israeli security forces arrested Palestinian freelance journalist Jihad al-Din al-Badawi, a contributor to Palestine Today, according to the Beirut based press freedom group SKeyes and his brother, Abed al-Hakeem al-Badawi, who spoke to CPJ.
Abed al-Hakeem al-Badawi told CPJ via messaging app that his brother was arrested at a checkpoint north of Bethlehem in the West Bank on his way back from work.
Israeli authorities are currently holding al-Badawi at Etzion detention center in the West Bank, according to his brother.
CPJ was unable to determine what, if any, charges, the journalist is facing or the status of his health in custody.
Al-Badawi was arrested in the course of Israel’s recent military operations in the region, which began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. 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.
CPJ emailed the Israel Defense Forces for comment on al-Badawi’s arrest; an IDF spokesperson referred CPJ to the Israel Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet, but the agency did not response to an email. CPJ also emailed the Israeli Prison Service in late 2024 for comment on the cases of imprisoned Palestinian journalists but received no response.