CPJ: Israel detains four journalists in four days

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 6 November 2026 |  JP Middle East Desk

CPJ said Israeli authorities detained four journalists in the first four days of November 2026. Two remained in custody when it reported on November 5; the other two were released after being held for hours.

Summary

NEW YORK — Israeli authorities detained four journalists in the first four days of November, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on November 5, raising concern about what it described as an escalation in detentions and alleged abuse.

CPJ said Radio Hawa presenter Samer Khuwaira and Arab48 podcast presenter Abed Abu Shehadeh remained in custody when it published its alert. The press freedom organization said Al Jazeera correspondent Montaser Nassar and journalist Hazem Nasser had been released after being held for hours.

Two journalists released after hours

Soldiers detained Nassar at his home in Dura, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on November 3. He told CPJ that soldiers blew up his front door and blindfolded him. He also alleged that soldiers verbally abused him and other detainees, spat on anyone who moved, and threatened that Hebron would face the same fate as Gaza.

Al Jazeera separately reported that Nassar was released after several hours at an army camp near the Fawwar refugee camp. The broadcaster said video showed him blindfolded and handcuffed as soldiers led him into a military vehicle. Its Hebron correspondent reported that at least 20 Palestinians were detained in the Dura raid and released as troops withdrew.

Allegations over detention conditions

On November 4, soldiers held Hazem Nasser for hours at an undisclosed military complex near Tulkarem, CPJ reported. Sources who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals told the organization that he was handcuffed with his hands behind his back for seven hours and warned he would be arrested if he discussed detention conditions with the media.

CPJ said Nasser's detention came almost two weeks after his release from more than two years of administrative detention, a system under which people can be held without criminal charges. The organization's anonymous sources provided the account of his treatment and the warning.

Two remained in custody

Soldiers arrested Khuwaira at his Nablus home on November 2 and took him first to Huwwara and then to Salem detention centers, CPJ said. His lawyer told the organization he would likely face administrative detention without charges; CPJ did not report that such an order had been issued. Khuwaira has alleged that he was tortured during a previous nine-month period of administrative detention.

Israeli police arrested Abu Shehadeh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, on the night of November 3 over alleged contact with a foreign agent after he interviewed Palestinian intellectual Azmi Bishara in Qatar, CPJ reported. His wife told CPJ that the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Magistrate's Court extended his detention until November 8. Al Jazeera reported that the court acted on November 4 after police sought an eight-day extension.

Defense lawyer Hadeel Abu Salih told Jewish Currents that Abu Shehadeh said questioning focused only on the podcast interview. She disputed any basis for treating the contact as illegal and characterized the arrest as political. Al Jazeera reported that Adalah, a legal rights group on his defense team, intended to appeal.

CPJ regional director Sara Qudah accused Israeli authorities of a campaign of intimidation and silencing and called for the immediate release of imprisoned Palestinian journalists. CPJ said it emailed the Israeli military and police about the cases and detention conditions but had received no response by the time it published.

ATTRIBUTION: Prepared by JournalismPakistan staff, based on reports by the Committee to Protect Journalists on November 5, 2026; Al Jazeera on November 3 and 5, 2026; and Jewish Currents on November 4, 2026.

PHOTO: AI-generated; for illustrative purposes only.