Ramallah – 16th Sep. 2026 The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms “MADA” calls for the immediate and urgent release of freelance journalist NAQA’ HAMED, who was arrested by Israeli occupation forces on the evening of Tuesday, 15 September 2026, after being stopped at a military checkpoint near the town of Tuqu', southeast of Bethlehem, while returning from a journalistic assignment in Masafer Yatta, accompanied by a media crew working on a documentary film for the “TRT Arabi” channel.
According to information documented by MADA Center, occupation forces detained the crew members and confiscated their identification documents, searched the vehicle, and photographed the crew, before separating journalist HAMED from her colleagues and subjecting her to a field interrogation that focused directly on her journalistic work, the entity she works for, the nature of the assignment she was carrying out, and what she had been filming and on whose behalf. She was then ordered to take her phone, laptop, and the rest of her belongings, after which she was separated from the crew and taken to an unknown location, while the rest of the crew members were released.
This arrest takes on an urgent and serious character given its direct connection to HAMED’s journalistic work, particularly as her detention came approximately one month after she was subjected to threats via social media from settlers, in relation to her journalistic work and her coverage of the events surrounding the siege of the village of “Qusra”, south of Nablus. Following those threats, HAMED was compelled to stop working as a correspondent and move into independent production work. While no official information is yet available clarifying the reasons for her arrest, the timing, the prior context surrounding her, and the nature of the questions put to her during detention raise serious concerns regarding the connection between the measures taken against her and her journalistic work.
HAMED’s arrest comes amid the continued detention of a large number of Palestinian journalists, with the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club indicating that there are 37 journalists in occupation prisons, nearly half of them held under administrative detention. The continuation of these arrests and this persecution reflects the growing restrictions imposed on Palestinian journalists, limiting their ability to work, access information, and document events.
MADA Center affirms that the arrest of journalists in connection with their work, or subjecting them to interrogation regarding their journalistic assignments, constitutes a serious violation of press freedom and of journalists’ right to practice their profession, and also deprives the public of its right to access independent information.
MADA Center calls on the occupation forces to immediately disclose the whereabouts of journalist NAQA’ HAMED, to ensure her safety and enable her to contact her lawyer and family, and to release her unless she is charged with a clear offense recognized under international legal standards. It further calls for an end to the persecution and detention of Palestinian journalists on account of their journalistic work, and for putting a stop to the threats and incitement they face, including from settlers.
MADA Center urgently calls on international and United Nations institutions and organizations concerned with press freedom to intervene immediately to demand disclosure of journalist HAMED’s fate and to ensure her safety, and to press for an end to the policy of arresting and persecuting Palestinian journalists, and to guarantee their ability to practice their work free from intimidation, interference, or punishment.
