Journalists' Bloc: The Occupation Continues to Target Journalists with Arrests and Forced Disappearance
The Palestinian Journalists' Bloc condemned the Israeli occupation forces' arrest of journalist Sami al-Shami and journalist Raja Jaber from Jenin, considering it a continuation of the policy of targeting journalists. The Bloc stated that more than 250 journalists have been arrested since the beginning of the aggression, with 38 still in detention, including 6 female journalists and 9 from Gaza, and 20 administrative detainees. It also documented the deaths of journalists inside prisons and called on international institutions to act.
The Palestinian Journalists' Bloc, in a statement issued on Sunday, October 4, 2026, condemned the Israeli occupation forces' arrest of journalist Sami al-Shami from the town of Asira al-Qibliya and journalist Raja Ma'rouf Jaber from the town of Arraba in the Jenin Governorate. The Bloc considered these arrests to confirm the continuation of the policy of targeting Palestinian journalists and depriving them of their freedom due to their media work. According to data from the Prisoners' Media Office, more than 250 journalists have been arrested or detained since the beginning of the aggression, and about 38 journalists remain in detention, including 6 female journalists and 9 from the Gaza Strip, while 20 journalists are under administrative detention without charge or trial. The statement highlighted the tragedy of journalists missing since October 7, 2023, foremost among them Nidal al-Wahidi and Haitham Abdel Wahed. The Bloc also documented the deaths of journalists inside Israeli prisons: Marwan Fathi Harzallah in Megiddo Prison on March 28, 2026, and Ihab Muhammad Abdel Qader Diab, whose death was acknowledged by the occupation authorities in August 2026. The Bloc called on international journalistic and human rights institutions not to treat these cases as individual incidents, but as a matter requiring follow-up and accountability.