Details of Violations:

5^th March. Journalist and broadcaster for Al-Aqsa TV, MOHAMMED SALAMEH, was killed in the occupation bombing of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

 

6^th March. On Wednesday morning, the Israeli occupation authorities arrested freelance journalist SAEED RUKN after summoning him by phone after an attempt to arrest him from his home in the town of “Wadi Al-Jouz” in the city of Jerusalem on charges of incitement via social media, but they were unsuccessful. Several trial sessions were held for him, the last of which was postponed to the 27^th of March.

According to the investigations of MADA’s field researcher, the occupation forces stormed the town of “Wadi Al-Jouz” in the city of Jerusalem on Wednesday morning, searching for the house of photojournalist SAEED RUKN, and when they were unable to reach him, they called him by phone to ask him to come to an investigation session on the same day, bringing his mobile phone with him.

At 6:00PM, the journalist went to the Postal Police Station, and his family learned from the lawyer at 11:30PM that SAEED would be brought before the court two days later, and that he would be transferred to “Al-Qashla” investigation center.

On Thursday, corresponding to March 7^th, the journalist was brought before the court and charged with “incitement to terrorism” by referring to a group of news he publishes on social media. His detention was also extended until Sunday, March 10^th, and the extension was repeated until the next day, Monday, March 11^th.

In Monday’s session, the court ruled the innocence of the journalist, but the prosecution appealed the decision and accordingly extended the detention until Thursday March 14^th, where the journalist was accused in that session of spreading news of a “terrorist group.” He, in turn, denied this and stressed that everything he publishes or posts was news in its professional form, as he works in journalism and media and holds a journalist degree and card as a proof. The hearing was postponed until Thursday March 21^st, during which his detention was extended again until March 24^th, which was also postponed until Wednesday March 27^th. It was postponed until May 12^th until the journalist was presented to the conduct officer.

 

7^th March. The Israeli occupation forces arrested, at dawn on Thursday, journalist BUSHRA JAMAL AL-TAWEEL (30 years old), from her friend’s house in Al-Tira neighborhood in the city of Ramallah, where she was staying overnight.

Large numbers of occupation soldiers stormed Al-Tira neighborhood in the city of Ramallah, raided the apartment of a friend of the freelance journalist, BUSHRA JAMAL AL-TAWEEL (30 years old), and arrested her.

The occupation soldiers conducted a field investigation with the journalist in one of the rooms of the house, accompanied by torture and severe beatings by the soldiers before arrest.

The soldiers threatened the journalist if she did not hand over her mobile phone, that they would begin breaking up the house and destroying its contents. This is indeed what happened, as the soldiers spread throughout the house, breaking its contents, and tampering it.

During the investigation with BUSHRA, she was physically assaulted with severe beatings, and verbally assaulted by shouting, threatening, inappropriate profanity, and threatening her family and mother, until they found the phone during the search, after which they withdrew from the house after arresting the journalist.

BUSHRA's screaming was loud, and she was shouting at the soldier "Get your hands off me”.

The journalist's family only learned of her arrest through social media, when the names of the detainees were published.

 

 

 

 

8^th March.  A group of settlers attacked journalist KHALDOUN MAZLOUM's vehicle near the "Yitzhar" junction on the side of "Surra" checkpoint, beating them with their hands and feet and confiscating his car key for about fifteen minutes on Friday afternoon, while he was heading to the town of "Al-Janiya" west of the city of Ramallah with his wife and three children.

According to the investigations of MADA field researcher, a group of settlers, at around 3:00PM on Friday afternoon, attacked the vehicle of journalist KHALDOUN ZAKARIA MAZLOUM (39 years old), who works as an editor for “Sanad” Agency, while he was passing through “Surra” checkpoint near the “Yitzhar” junction.

A number of young settlers gathered, the eldest of whom was no more than 17 years old, on the side of the road. On the opposite side of them were the occupation soldiers. When the journalist approached them, they attacked the vehicle and began hitting it with their hands and feet. The journalist quickly closed the doors from the inside after they tried to open them, and they began hitting their heads on the windows of the vehicle towards his wife and children, and when he tried to get away from them, the occupation soldiers intervened and three of them attacked him and confiscated the car key at gunpoint. Then the soldiers went to the settlers and told them that they had got the key and asked them to stay away from him.

Five settlers remained around the vehicle, screaming and cursing, and they kept doing that for fifteen minutes, cursing and shouting, until the police came to the place and asked them to move away.

KHALDOUN tried to file a complaint with the police, but they asked him to leave immediately under threat, and asked him to continue on his way, after the vehicle was damaged as a result of the attack.

 

10^th March. The occupation police arrested freelance journalist IBRAHIM AL-SINJLAWI from his home in the city of Jerusalem on Sunday morning, and took him to “Al-Qashla” investigation center, where they issued a decision to banish him from Al-Aqsa Mosque for a period of one week, subject to renewal.

The occupation police stormed, at approximately 9:00AM, on Sunday morning, the house of the photojournalist IBRAHIM AL-SANJLAWI in the city of Jerusalem, one day before the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. The house was not searched nor any of the journalist’s equipment was confiscated.

At the moment of arrest, the journalist showed them his press card and asked them about the reason for the arrest or detention, but they refused to answer. After spending ten minutes at home, he was taken to “Al-Qashla” investigation center in Jerusalem and waited for about an hour and a half. They told him that he would be banished from Al-Aqsa Mosque for a week, and that the decision could be renewed for approximately half a year.

The journalist was asked to sign the banishment decision, but he refused to sign. He asked them to translate the banishment decision paper into Arabic, but they refused. They told him that the banishment decision stands and he was released.

 

11^th March. Israeli occupation soldiers detained Turkish Anadolu Agency cameraman HISHAM ABU SHAKRA on Monday morning for about seven hours and interrogated him at the Jabara Investigation Center east of Hebron about his journalistic work and the photos found on his mobile phone.

According to the investigations of MADA field researcher, at approximately 10:00 AM on Monday morning, the cameraman of the Turkish Anadolu Agency, HISHAM KAMEL ABU SHAKRA, was with his brothers in “Jabal Jawhar” area in the city of Hebron, and while they stopped to ask a citizen about one of the institutions they wanted to go to, a number of occupation soldiers surrounded journalist ABU SHAKRA’s vehicle, pointed weapons at it and asked those in it to get off.

The soldiers stopped the journalist’s brothers near one of the cement walls and physically searched them, while two other soldiers searched the vehicle and took down the cameras and the journalists’ vests. Journalist ABU SHAKRA told the soldiers that he was a journalist and these items belonged to his work, but to no avail. The soldiers were shouting at him, asking him to be silent and not to speak. The soldier asked journalist ABU SHAKRA to hand him his mobile phone and to open it, while the soldier examined the phone and searched the pictures, as there were several pictures of armed people, which the journalist explained by photographing the events taking place on his personal phone.

At around 10:25AM in the morning, the soldiers tied the journalist's hands with plastic ties behind his back and blindfolded him, and transported him in a military vehicle, which moved an unknown distance and then stopped in a place that could have been an army camp. Two soldiers took him to a room and made him sit on the floor. The journalist stayed for about 15 minutes in his place and then was transferred again by a military vehicle to another place where he stayed for another 15 minutes. During his transfer, he was verbally assaulted by the soldiers without any reason, and then he was transferred a third time to another place, which later turned out to be “Jaabara” police investigation center in “Kiryat Arba” settlement, east of the city of Hebron. There, the journalist was taken into a room where there was an Arabic-speaking investigator who introduced himself as (IZZ AL-DIN). He asked ABU SHAKRA about the nature of his work, and that he had confiscated two drones that were in the vehicle under the pretext that there was a military decision regarding that and prohibiting their use during wartime. The investigator also asked about the phone and opened it and searched the pictures inside it. After that, the investigator informed him that he would be released. The journalist left the investigation center at about 5:00 PM, when he learned that he was arrested alone and his brother was released in the place of detention in Jabal Jawhar area.

 

13^th March. The occupation forces targeted a group of journalists by firing live bullets directly at them late on Wednesday while they were in the city of Jenin to cover the occupation forces’ storming of the city and its camp.

Journalist MOHAMMAD ALI ATEEQ (32 years old), who works for the French Agency, reported that he and a group of journalists were present after 12:00 midnight on Wednesday near the Omar Nazzal roundabout in the city of Jenin to cover the occupation forces’ storming of the city and its camp. They were: journalist JARRAH KHALAF who works for Quds Feed, journalist OBADA TAHAYNA who works for Al-Jazeera Live, journalist MOHAMMED ABED who works for Quds News Network, journalist MASHAEL ABU ALRUB, and journalist AMRO MANASRAH who works for Palestine Post.

During the coverage, the soldiers' jeeps were riding in front of the journalists - who were wearing press uniforms - in an attempt to intimidate them and prevent them from covering. They were also targeted by firing live bullets at them as they were clearly listening to the sound of the bullets passing by them, but none of them were harmed.

 

15^th March. The Israeli occupation police detained journalist DIALA JWEIHAN for half an hour and interrogated her on the ground while covering the Israeli attacks in the city of Jerusalem and the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of the month of Ramadan.

According to the investigations of MADA’s field researcher, Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda newspaper reporter, journalist DIALA JWEIHAN, was present in the vicinity of Bab Al-Asbat, which is one of the main doors leading to the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque from the northern side, to cover the Israeli attacks in the city of Jerusalem and the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, including closures and tightening of checkpoints throughout all streets and neighborhoods of the city, and the passage of worshipers through iron barricades that allocate very small spaces that allow only one or two people to pass.

During this time, direct contact occurred between a number of young men who were assaulted by the occupation police, so DIALA began filming to document the event.

Meanwhile, the journalist was surprised when her bag was taken away and searched in a “very strange” manner, as she described it. During that time, she was subjected to interrogation and questioning about the reason for her presence in the place, after the press jacket was found in the bag.

DIALA replied that she is a journalist doing her work, and showed her press cards (the Palestinian Syndicate’s card and the international card), and the answer was that these cards are not recognized in the city of Jerusalem.

The field investigation continued for about half an hour, and the questions focused on her journalistic work, the parties she works for, and her place of residence. In the end, she was told, “Journalists in the city of Jerusalem must observe the 'boundaries’ allocated to them”.

The journalist was released by allowing her to pass through Al-Asbat Gate and enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, without conditions or restrictions.

 

15^th March. Photojournalist MOHAMMED AL-RIFI (36 years old), who works for several media outlets, died of his wounds sustained by bullets from the Zionist occupation army on Thursday evening, March 14^th, at the Kuwait Roundabout, southeast of Gaza City.

 

16^th March. The journalist and producer of the Raqmi TV, ABDELRAHMAN SAIMAH, was killed after the occupation planes bombed his house in Gaza Strip.

 

17^th March. The occupation police arrested freelance journalist BASSEM ZIDANI from Al-Magharbah Gate in the city of Jerusalem on Sunday, and transferred him to “Al-Qashla” Center for investigation, where they handed him a banishment order from Al-Aqsa Mosque for a week, to be renewed for a second week, under the pretext that police estimates indicate the possibility of him disrupting order and posing “danger.”

According to the investigations of MADA field researcher, journalist BASSEM ZIDANI was on his way from his home in “Ras al-Amoud” neighborhood in the town of Silwan to the Mughrabi Gate, where members of the occupation police stopped him at a flying checkpoint. The journalist was surprised to find a policeman standing in the street in front of him, “as if he had received a warning that a wanted person was heading towards him”. The policeman asked the journalist by name, "Are you BASSEM ZIDANI?" He replied yes, and then asked him to stop on the side of the road, addressing him “You are being detained for investigation”. BASSEM tried to inquire about the reason and told him: “Get out of the car and we will talk later”.

The journalist parked his car in a place away from cars, and the policeman immediately confiscated his phone and asked for his ID card, without explaining the reason. Then, after approximately ten minutes, he took him to the police station in “Al-Buraq Wall” area, which is about 250-300 meters away from Al-Maghariba Gate and informed him that he was arrested and would be transferred to “Al-Qashla” investigation center for a hearing. When he inquired again about the reason, they told him that it he will know when he gets there.

After waiting for an hour and a half, a police car arrived to transport him, and at this point one of the police officers (an Arab - according to him) tried to provoke him by pushing and cursing, but he avoided direct contact with him.

He entered the investigation room in “Al-Qashla” center, and the session began by introducing him by name and ID number. BASSEM was asked if he knew the reason for his summons and he answered negatively. He was told that he would receive a banishment order from Al-Aqsa Mosque for a week, and that he must return after a week (i.e., Sunday, March 24) to receive a second banishment order of up to six months, and that he could request a lawyer.

BASSEM agreed to receive the decision declaring his banishment from Al-Aqsa Mosque, and he was handed a map showing all the roads on which he is prohibited to be present, including the perimeter of Al-Aqsa Mosque with paths of about 500 meters on all sides. BASSEM noted that the decision was signed on the first day of Ramadan (March 11). When he asked about the reason for banishment, he received the answer that police estimates indicated that he was likely to disrupt order and pose a “danger.” He was also subjected to a clear and explicit threat that any violation of the banishment order and an attempt to be present in the designated areas would expose him to actual imprisonment, noting that he had never been subjected to banishment or any other type of direct contact with members of the army or police in that area, whether inside Al-Aqsa and the Old City or outside it.

 

 

 

18^th March. The occupation forces arrested journalist WALID ZAYED, who works as an editor for Al Jazeera Live, from his home in Al-Masayef neighborhood in the city of Ramallah on Monday morning and took him to an unknown destination after confiscating his mobile phone and computer.

According to the investigations of MADA field researcher, the occupation forces stormed the house of journalist WALID KHALED ZAYED (28 years old) at approximately 5:30 AM on Monday, and arrested him.

About 12 military patrols stormed Al-Masayef neighborhood in the city of Ramallah, and surrounded the journalist’s family’s home. They were screaming and violently knocking until the head of the family, KHALED RABAH ZAYED, was able to open the door.

Once they entered the house, the soldiers began asking about WALID, who was sleeping in his room. They forcefully stormed his room and snatched him from his bed. They searched the room and broke its contents. They asked him to put on his clothes after physically assaulting him by pushing him forcefully. They confiscated his computer, his personal phone, and his mother’s phone.

The occupation soldiers stayed in the house for about a third of an hour, and did not say anything. When his parents tried to leave after his arrest, the soldiers pointed weapons at his parents and asked them to enter the house. Until the moment of preparing the report, the family now does not know about the journalist’s whereabouts.

On March 28, the occupation court in Ofer Prison extended the detention of journalist WALID ZAYED until June 4, as he is still detained in Ofer Prison.

 

19^th March. The occupation soldiers detained a group of journalists in one of the rooms inside Al-Shifa Medical Hospital, while they were stripped and with their hands tied, for about 12 hours at dawn on Tuesday, and severely beat them in the extremely cold weather.

 

According to the investigations of MADA’s field researcher, at approximately 2:45AM, on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reporter ISMAIL MAHER AL-GHOUL (29 years old) was present in a room designated for journalists inside Al-Shifa Medical Hospital with a group of his colleagues, namely (MOHAMMED SAADO AL-HINDI, NASSER RAAFAT ABU ODEH, YOUSEF SAADO AL-HINDI, all three of whom work for Al-Jazeera, journalist SAMER TARAZI, broadcasting officer for the National Media Production Company, AHMED AL-HARZIN, a broadcasting employee for the National Media Production Company, IYAD AL-RIFI, who works for the National Media Production Company, and journalist MOHAMMED AL-RIFI).

Those inside the room heard the sound of the occupation army’s bulldozers entering the hospital yard and starting to bulldoze the place. They remained trapped inside the room they were in. After half an hour, the occupation soldiers came and directed laser beams at them. At that moment, the press crew carried the press vests and showed them to the soldiers that they were journalists, but the soldiers asked the journalists to leave the room and into the square one by one after stripping off all clothes except the underwear for the lower body while raising their hands above their heads. The journalists remained in the square for an hour in the extremely cold weather while they were stripped and tied.

After an hour of detention, army officers took them to another room for 12 hours, after confiscating all of their press equipment, including smartphones, cameras, and computers.

Journalist AL-GHOUL introduced himself as a journalist for Al-Jazeera. The soldier said to him “You work for the Intelligence Service; you are a terrorist”. At 4:30PM, the soldiers took the detained journalists out to the hospital courtyard to sort out who would be forcibly removed to the south of Gaza Strip, and who would be presented for interrogation by Israeli intelligence in the hospital’s outpatient clinics building. AL-GHOUL was then sorted to go to the intelligence room. While waiting for his turn for several hours for interrogation, he managed to escape from the place while assisting an old man.

As for the journalists IYAD AL-RIFI and MOHAMMED AL-RIFI, they chose to move to the south, and upon leaving the hospital, the army ordered them to walk from the main street and head south to the Rashad Al-Shawa area, but before arriving to the area, a tank of the occupation army followed them and ordered them to walk from the street next to Al-Shifa Medical Complex, and indeed they did. The two journalists walked on the road next to Al-Shifa Medical Complex and headed to the port area, then took side roads and fled towards Gaza City again.

He later learned that the rest of his colleagues had been beaten and tortured, as he had watched video clips of them published by the occupation soldiers while they were detained wearing the uniform worn by the occupation army, which is a white overall.

 

19^th March. The Israeli occupation authorities arrested freelance journalist RULA HASSANEIN after raiding her home in the city of Bethlehem at dawn on Tuesday and transferred her to the “Damoun” detention center. The military court charged her with incitement through social media.

According to the testimony of the journalist’s husband, SHADI BARIJIYAH to MADA, a force of occupation soldiers raided, at approximately 2:30AM, on Tuesday, the home of freelance journalist RULA IBRAHIM ABDEL RAHIM HASSANEIN in Al-Ma’asra area in the city of Bethlehem. The soldiers detained the journalist and her husband in the living room in the middle of the house and informed her that she was under arrest. They also confiscated her personal phone and laptop. After handcuffing her hands and blindfolding her, she was transferred to one of the military jeeps that had left the place, where the journalist was transferred to the “Jaabara” investigation center in the “Kiryat Arba” settlement, east of the city of Hebron, and then she was deported to Hasharon Prison and from there to Damon Prison.

On Monday, corresponding to March 25^th, the journalist was brought before the military court in “Ofer,” west of the city of Ramallah, and the military prosecution charged her with incitement through social media posts. The hearing was postponed until Tuesday, corresponding to 2^nd of April.

SHADI BARIJIYAH, the journalist’s husband, reported that she was presented to the court in a difficult health and psychological condition, showing malnutrition and a difficult detention situation in “Damoun” prison. It is scheduled that a release request will be submitted by the defense team by presenting the file of her 9-month-old child, “ELIAA” who suffers from ulcers on her body as a result of no breastfeeding from her mother, who is now in detention. However, the occupation court refused to consider the lawyer’s request to release the journalist as a humanitarian case, as she is the mother of the infant girl ELIAA (9 months).

 

19^th March. Members of the Intelligence Service arrested MAHER SHAHER HAROUN, a student of journalism and media at Al-Quds Open University, from Al-Amari camp on Tuesday, while covering a march that took place in the city of Ramallah. His detention continued for three days, during which he underwent several investigation sessions on charges of calling for organizing marches.

According to the investigations of MADA field researcher, MAHER SHAHER HAROUN (22 years old), a journalism and media student, was present covering a march on Al-Manara Roundabout in the center of the city of Ramallah. After the end of the march, six individuals wearing civilian clothes who identified themselves as members of the General Intelligence Service arrested him and took him to a vehicle that was close to them and then to the prison in the city of Al-Bireh.

Immediately upon his arrival to the prison and his identity being confirmed, he was transferred to medical services, and the journalist informed them of all the health problems that he suffers from, after he felt and feared that an attack or assault would occur against him, as HAROUN suffers from sinus and bone problems, and he takes medications continuously, and later he was returned to prison for investigation.

HAROUN was investigated about his journalistic work and his filming of marches. On the first day of detention, HAROUN was subjected to two investigation sessions, each lasting 6 hours. On the second day, he was also subjected to two investigation sessions on charges of calling for organizing sit-ins, marches, and events. After the investigation, it became clear to them that all the accusations against him were malicious. During several interrogation sessions, HAROUN was subjected to physical abuse (light beating) and verbal abuse, including screaming and cursing.

On the third day of his detention, at approximately 10:00PM, HAROUN was informed of the decision to release him. Throughout the period of detention, MAHER was not brought before any court and no trial session was held. They also prevented any lawyer from visiting him, and also prevented his family from visiting him or bringing him medicines.

20^th March. The occupation forces arrested Al-Arabi TV reporter MOHAMMED ARAB from the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital on Wednesday, after detaining him with a group of citizens and taking him to an unknown destination.

According to the investigations of MADA field researcher, Arab TV reporter MOHAMMED ARAB was sleeping in the specialized surgeries building in Al-Shifa Hospital, after he was trapped with both of his colleagues RAMI AL-RIFI (27 years old), who works for the National Media Production Company, and MOHAMMED AL-RIFI throughout Tuesday corresponding to March 19^th. When the occupation soldiers took the males out of the building, the journalist went out with the first part in which AL-RIFI was present. The citizens lined up in front of the specialized surgeries building. Then they went out to stand in an area designated by the soldiers in the middle of the outer courtyard of Al-Shifa Medical Hospital, and while the citizens were waiting for the screening in front of the cameras installed on the stairs of the administration building, the soldier came out and pointed to journalist MOHAMMED ARAB and said “The young man wearing gray Nike sportswear come out of the line and take off your clothes, and head to the General Intelligence interrogation line”. Then he was arrested and taken to an unknown destination.

 

20^th March. Journalist BASSAM FAIQ HASSOUNA was killed on Wednesday by a shell that directly hit him in the head while Al-Shifa Hospital was targeted by shells.

According to the investigations of MADA’s field researcher, during the occupation soldiers’ siege of the Al-Shifa Complex on Wednesday, the soldiers targeted the areas surrounding the hospital with tank shells. Journalist BASSAM FAIQ HASSOUNA (50 years old), who works in the media department of the Ministry of Culture, was at the house of his relatives of AL-SHARAFA family near the hospital and he was accompanied by 50 family members.

The shells that targeted the hospital reached the house where the journalist and others were present, and he was hit by a direct shell to the head that led to his immediate death. Ambulances were unable to reach the place, and the family placed the body at the door of the house waiting for the ambulance to reach the place. As of the date of recording the statement on March 21, the body was still present in front of the door awaiting the evacuation of the martyr and the family.

 

22^nd March. A group of journalists were directly targeted by occupation soldiers by firing live bullets twice during the day on Friday while covering a shooting attack near the “Dolf” settlement, west of the city of Ramallah.

According to the testimony of “Awda” TV cameraman YOUSEF MADI SHEHADEH (24 years old) to MADA, a group of journalists were present around 5:30AM, on Friday to cover a shooting incident carried out by a Palestinian resistance fighter near the “Dolf” settlement, west of the city of Ramallah, which resulted in the death of an Israeli soldier and 6 others were injured.

The cameraman YOUSEF SHEHADEH, the French Agency cameraman MOHAMMED AWAD, and the trainee journalist MOHAMMED AL-FARARI, wearing full press uniforms, were present near the site of the incident to cover the events. During the coverage, the occupation soldiers targeted them with live bullets more than once and from a distance not exceeding a few meters, two bullets fell near the cameraman’s legs.

The journalists remained covering until 04:00PM in the afternoon, and when they withdrew from the town of Kafr Ni'ma towards the town of Deir Ibzi, the occupation jeeps targeted them for the second time with live bullets, but none of them were injured.

 

23^rd March. The martyrdom of the presenter of religious programs on Al-Quds Al-Youm TV, Dr. MAHMOUD IMAD ISSA, the occupation bombed his house, and a number of his family members died with him.

 

23^rd March. The occupation soldiers abused journalist IMAD AL-EFRANJI, reporter for Al-Quds newspaper, and his traces were subsequently lost. The soldiers took the journalist to his home and subjected his family to torture before destroying his home and forcing the family to move south.

 

26^th March. Journalist OLA ABDEL MONEIM LABAD, her husband, and her children were killed when the occupation bombed a house to which they were displaced in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

 

28^th March. Journalist MOHAMMED ABU SUKHAIL, head of the editing department at the “Shams News” Foundation, was killed by occupation bullets in Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City.

 

28^th March. Palestinian journalist BAYAN ABU SULTAN was missing. She was last seen on 19^th March at Al-Shifa Medical Complex before the recent siege, as announced by Reporters Without Borders.

 

29^th March. The Palestinian Intelligence Service arrested AHMED AL-BITAWI, a journalist with “Sanad” Agency, while covering a march in downtown Nablus in support of Gaza Strip and took him to Al-Junaid prison on Friday evening.

According to the testimony of the wife of journalist AHMED HAMED BITAWI (41 years old) to a MADA researcher, the journalist was arrested while covering a march that took place in the center of the city of Nablus in support of Gaza Strip. At around 9:00PM, on Friday, members of the intelligence services arrested the journalist while he was at Al-Shuhada’ Roundabout. His vehicle was also seized, and he was taken to the district headquarters.

Until four and a half hours later, his wife was unable to find out any information about him, but she continued to call his phone number, which had not been turned off, until the intelligence agents allowed the journalist to answer the phone at about 1:30AM, on Saturday, when he told his wife that the intelligence agents arrested him. The family later learned that he had been transferred to Al-Junaid prison in the city.

On Sunday, 03/31, the journalist was presented to the Public Prosecution, which decided to extend his detention for 48 hours, and on Monday, April 1, the Nablus Magistrate Court extended the journalist’s detention for 15 days.

On Sunday, 31^st March, the journalist was presented to the Public Prosecution, which decided to extend his detention for 48 hours, and on Monday, April 1, the Nablus Magistrate Court extended the journalist’s detention for 15 days.

31^st March. Occupation missiles bombed the journalists' tent at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip on Sunday afternoon, wounding several journalists with varying injuries.

According to the testimony of a MADA researcher, at around 12:00PM, on Sunday, occupation forces’ missiles targeted a tent where journalists used as a place for their media work in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip.

This bombing led to the injury of a number of journalists and photojournalists who were in or near the tent, including: Al-Aqsa TV reporter who was injured in the head, APA cameraman ALI HAMAD who was injured by missile shrapnel in his back, freelance cameraman SAEED JARAS who was injured by shrapnel in his knees, and cameraman NOMAN SHTEIWI, who owns a media production company and suffered a minor facial injury, cameraman MOHAMMED ABU DAHROUJ, who works for a Russian news agency, suffered a serious injury to his foot that could cause it to be amputated, photojournalist NAFEZ ABU LABDA, Al-Aqsa cameraman IBRAHIM LABAD, and Al-Jazeera cameraman HAZEM MAZID suffered a foot injury.

 

31^st March. Journalist ABDUL WAHAB AWNI ABU AUN, a photojournalist and editor for several media outlets, was killed when the occupation bombed his house in the Maghazi camp in central Gaza Strip.

 

30^th March. The occupation army destroyed the headquarters of Press House, western Gaza, completely, while it was under siege along with Al-Shifa Medical Complex.