RAMALLAH, September 16, 2026 (WAFA) -- The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate on Wednesday condemned Israel's continued detention and targeting of Palestinian journalists, saying the number of journalists currently detained has risen to 38.
The Syndicate said in a statement that the latest detention was that of journalist Niqaa Hamed, who was detained Tuesday while passing through a military checkpoint in Tuqu' town, southeast of Bethlehem.
Israeli forces stopped the vehicle carrying Hamed near a military tower in Tuqu' as she was returning from Hebron, where she had filmed a news story for the English-language Turkish channel TRT, according to the syndicate.
Hamed, a mother of three who holds U.S. citizenship, has diabetes and other health problems, the syndicate said, warning that her continued detention raises serious concerns for her health and safety given the harsh conditions of detention and lack of adequate medical and humanitarian safeguards.
The Syndicate said Hamed's detention came amid a recent campaign against Palestinian journalists, including the detention last Thursday of journalists Muath Ammarneh and Sabri Jibril after Israeli forces raided their homes in Dheisheh refugee camp and Tuqu', respectively, in the Bethlehem governorate.
Ammarneh has now been detained three times, the syndicate said, describing his repeated detention as part of the continued targeting of journalists over their professional work.
The Syndicate also expressed concern over the detention of journalist Bushra al-Tawil, 33, saying she had been transferred from Damon Prison to solitary confinement in Ramleh amid intensified isolation and other measures against Palestinian women prisoners.
According to data from the Syndicate and prisoners' institutions, the 38 detained journalists include five women: al-Tawil, Hamed, Islam Amarnah, Farah Abu Ayyash and Natalie Abu Diya.
Nineteen of the detained journalists, or about half of the total, are being held under administrative detention without clear charges or trial, the data showed.
The Syndicate also renewed its condemnation of a 48-month prison sentence imposed on journalist and academic Mahmoud Fatafta in a case involving what Israeli authorities term "incitement." It said the sentence was the longest imposed on a Palestinian journalist in such cases during the period of the aggression.
It said the continued detention and prosecution of journalists, along with administrative detention, solitary confinement and alleged mistreatment, are restricting press freedom and preventing journalists from reporting events and documenting violations.
It noted that it would continue working with the International Federation of Journalists and international media, press and human rights organizations to seek the protection and release of detained journalists and accountability for violations against them.
The Syndicate pointed out that detained journalists face harsh detention conditions, deprivation of basic rights, isolation, mistreatment and inadequate medical care, citing human rights organizations' documentation of risks including starvation, medical neglect and torture.
It warned that such conditions pose serious risks to the lives and physical and psychological well-being of detained journalists and called for urgent international intervention.
It called on the international community, the United Nations and international media and human rights organizations to pressure Israel to immediately release Hamed and all other detained journalists, end administrative detention and prosecutions related to journalistic work, protect Palestinian journalists and ensure they can carry out their work freely and safely.
A.D./ K.F.
