On January 11, 2024, Israeli police arrested Palestinian journalist Tareq Taha, editor at the Haifa-based news website Arab 48, after summoning him for questioning over a post on his personal Instagram account to the police station at the town of Tamra, 28 kilometers (18 miles) east of Haifa, according to news reports, his employer, and the Israeli daily Haaretz.
According to Haaretz, Taha posted a video showing a Palestinian flag and the word “resisting” along with a picture of Jewish Israeli civilians carrying weapons. The caption of the picture was written in Arabic and read “academic year brought to you by M16,” referring to the military rifle. According to a CPJ review, the story is no longer available on Taha’s Instagram account, but the Haaretz article shows screenshots of the story.
As a result of this Instagram story, Taha was arrested on suspicion of incitement, disturbing the public peace, and conspiring to commit an offense, according to Haaretz and his employer.
Taha was held in custody for three days. A Haifa Magistrate Court judge released him on bail of 5,000 shekels (US$1,362) on January 14, placed him under house arrest for five days and banned him from using social media for a week, according to Haaretz, news reports, and Taha’s employer. He was released from house arrest on January 18.
CPJ routinely contacts the Israel Defense Forces' North America Media Desk about its arrests of journalists. In one 2024 response the IDF said it detains “individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity,” but has either provided no evidence or unsubstantiated evidence to CPJ to support these suspicions. CPJ has also contacted the Israeli Prison Service, the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, and Shin Bet about Palestinian journalists arrested in the West Bank but did not receive any replies.