The number of journalists detained in Israeli occupation prisons has risen to 49, since the start of the aggression on October 7, 2023, following the arrest of journalist Ali Al-Samoudi from Jenin this morning.

The Prisoners Club explained in a statement that the 49 detained journalists are among (177) journalists who have been arrested and detained since the beginning of the genocide, based on documentation and monitoring operations conducted by the institutions.

He said that the occupation authorities continue to escalate their targeting of Palestinian journalists through systematic arrests, in addition to daily targeting of journalists while they are performing their work. This is in addition to the ongoing assassinations of journalists in Gaza, which is currently the bloodiest period for journalists, in an ongoing attempt to target the truth and the Palestinian narrative.

The Prisoners Club confirmed that the occupation authorities in the West Bank target journalists through administrative detention, i.e. under the pretext of having a "secret file." Their number among the total number of detained journalists is (19). The last two journalists to receive administrative detention orders were Samer Khuwaira and Ibrahim Abu Safiyya.

In addition to administrative detention, the occupation targets journalists through arrests on the grounds of what it calls "incitement," meaning they are detained on the grounds of freedom of opinion and expression. Social media platforms have become a tool for suppressing journalists and imposing further control and censorship over their work.

The Prisoners' Club noted that journalists are subjected to all the systematic crimes faced by detainees, including starvation, medical crimes, torture, and numerous forms of abuse.

It is noteworthy that dozens of Gaza journalists continue to be detained by the occupation under the "Unlawful Combatant" law, and some of them remain subject to enforced disappearance.

The Prisoners' Club reiterated its call for the international human rights community to restore its true and necessary role and end the systematic inaction that has cast a shadow over the humanitarian system since the beginning of the genocide, one of the most significant manifestations of which are the crimes committed against detainees in Israeli occupation prisons and camps. It also called for ensuring the protection of journalists and their work, which has been the most prominent tool in uncovering the extent of the genocide.

He noted that the arrests included those who were arrested and kept in detention by the occupation, as well as those who were later released.