On February 15, 2026, Israeli police arrested Afro-Palestinian journalist Nisreen Salem from her home in the Old City of Jerusalem on suspicion of providing services to a banned media organization.
Mohammad Mahmoud, a lawyer with the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem, told CPJ that police raided Salem’s home and detained her before presenting her to a magistrate’s court.
On February 16, 2026, the court extended her detention until February 19. Mahmoud said the defense appealed to the district court seeking her release, but the district court rejected the appeal and upheld the decision to extend her detention.
Police had earlier announced the arrest of a journalist from East Jerusalem on suspicion of providing services to a media entity that had been designated as banned under Israel’s counterterrorism law, noting that the investigation was opened with approval from the public prosecution.
On February 22, 2026, an Israeli court sentenced Salem to 10 days of house arrest. In addition, she is banned from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque for a period of 180 days. During the duration of the house arrest, she is prohibited from using social media, a mobile phone, or any other means of communication. She was required to pay a cash bail of 2,000 NIS (approximately $640 USD). Her lawyer told CPJ that she was held in Moscovia Detention Centre throughout her arrest, and that she was moved to house arrest on February 24.
CPJ’s email to the Israeli police for comment did not receive a reply.