On September 15, 2026, Palestinian-American journalist Naqaa Hamed, was arrested at a temporary Israeli army checkpoint in the village of Tuqu, near Bethlehem. She was released on September 28, without charge, according to her sister Fatema and lawyer Khaled Mahajnah.
Hamed, a freelance journalist with local production company 4D Media, was returning from a work assignment in Masaffer Yatta, near the northern West Bank city of Hebron. The assignment had been commissioned by the Turkish state broadcaster, TRT, according to Youssef Khallaf, the operations director at 4D Media, as well as by Wissam Hajouj and Hamada Mansour, the two cameramen who accompanied Hamed, and were later released.
Hamed is also a correspondent for the Iranian-affiliated broadcaster Press TV.
Hajouj told CPJ that soldiers photographed the crew before interrogating Hamed separately. Before she was led away, Hamed told Hajouj that soldiers had questioned her about her reporting and journalistic work.
Bashar Abed, Hamed’s husband, told CPJ in a phone interview that there was an online campaign calling for his wife’s arrest due to her work. He added that she was taken to Ariel Police Station, near Salfit.
CPJ reviewed online posts linking Hamed to Iran and calling for her detention over her reporting on the siege of Qusra village, near Nablus. In a post published four weeks prior, an online account openly questioned why the journalist had not yet been arrested.
On September 17, Israeli Salem military court extended Hamed’s detention until September 23, pending further investigation.
According to Ynet, military sources indicated that “there was information implicating her in cooperation with an enemy entity because of her work for the Iranian broadcaster, and that the case may also involve suspected espionage.”
On September 23, an Israeli court extended her detention for five days, according to Hamed’s husband, pending further investigation.
According to her sister, husband, and lawyer, the journalist's release was conditional upon paying 8000 INS (about 3000 USD) as bail. Mahajnah reaffirmed to CPJ that there has not been an official indictment.
At the time of her arrest the Israeli police told CPJ via messaging app that the journalist is under investigation on suspicion of “trading with the enemy, incitement, and support for Iran.” The Israeli Prison Services did not respond to an email from CPJ for comment on the conditions of her detention.