Israeli police arrested 62-year-old Arab-Israeli journalist Saeed Hasanein at his house in northern Israel’s Shefa Amr city on February 26, 2025, for his interview with Hamas-run Al Aqsa TV. Israel declared the station a terrorist organization in 2019.
On February 22, Hasanein told Al Aqsa TV that Hamas treated Israeli hostages humanely, and criticized Arab Israelis who serve in the Israeli Defense Forces.
As a result, Hasanein lost his job as a sports journalist for the Nazareth-based Arabic-language Nas Radio and as an announcer for Bnei Sakhnin football club, one of Israel’s most successful Arab clubs.
Hasanein was charged with “incitement,” “contact with a foreign agent,” “showing solidarity with a terrorist organization,” and “destroying evidence,” with the Israeli State Prosecutor’s office requesting he remain in custody because he poses “potential harm to state security.”
Hasanein’s lawyer, Alaa Mahajneh, denounced the case as politically motivated, describing his client’s detention as part of a broader crackdown on Palestinian activists and voices critical of the war, adding that Hasanein’s family were also questioned by Israeli police.
His detention has been extended multiple times, most recently until May 6 and then May 13.
The court has been discussing whether to grant Hasanein conditional release under house arrest, including “potentially keeping him away from his home,” Kholoud Masalha, director of the Nazareth-based advocacy group I’lam – Arab Center for Media Freedom, Development and Research, told CPJ.
“The [May 6] session focused on discussions with the families being considered to host him, who would be responsible for monitoring him 24/7, ensuring he does not leave the house or use communications or the internet, and that he has no outside contact,” she said, adding that even if Hasanein is granted conditional release, his trial will proceed.
“Saeed is being tried on three charges: contact with a foreign agent, conducting an interview with a banned channel, and incitement,” Masalha added.
On May 13, 2025, a court in the northwestern Israeli city of Acre ordered the release of Hasanein to house arrest, pending the conclusion of his trial.
“The conditions include house arrest at a friend’s residence in the village of Kafr Kanna near Shefa-Amr, a complete ban on internet and phone communication, a prohibition on giving media interviews, the wearing of an electronic ankle monitor, and a financial bail of 30,000 shekels (US$8,430),” Murad Haddad, a friend of Hassanein who attended the trial, told CPJ. “If any of the conditions are violated, the bail will be forfeited, and he will be returned to prison.”