In a stark violation of press freedom and basic human rights, Israeli occupation authorities have issued a three-month administrative detention order against Palestinian journalist Samer Khuwaira. The order follows his arrest from his home in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on 10 April, without any formal charges being filed.
Khuwaira’s wife, fellow journalist Iman Amer, confirmed that the family was informed of the detention order on Wednesday, though the current location of his detention remains undisclosed. He was initially taken to the Huwwara military base, used as a detention and interrogation centre, before being transferred to an unknown location.
The administrative detention order was issued by the so-called “military commander” of the area, without any legal file or publicly disclosed evidence. The measure is part of a broader and increasingly routine tactic used by Israeli forces to silence Palestinian journalists and activists.
Khuwaira, a father of four, is known for his extensive on-the-ground coverage of developments in the West Bank and works with several Palestinian and Arab media outlets.
Likewise, Israeli authorities also issued a four-month administrative detention order against journalist Ibrahim Abu Safiya from the town of Beit Sira, west of Ramallah. Abu Safiya, a former detainee, has previously been subjected to arrest. His renewed detention underscores the growing pattern of targeting Palestinian journalists, particularly since the onset of Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, which began on 7 October 2023.
Since the start of the assault on Gaza, Israeli forces have detained 177 Palestinian journalists. Forty-eight of them remain behind bars, some held under harsh conditions and deprived of basic legal and humanitarian rights.
Administrative detention is an extraordinary measure used by Israeli authorities to hold Palestinians without charge or trial, relying on so-called “secret files” inaccessible to both detainees and their legal representatives. The practice is widely condemned as a flagrant breach of international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which upholds the right to a fair and transparent trial.
Furthermore, the Fourth Geneva Convention stipulates the protection of journalists working in conflict zones, safeguarding them from arbitrary arrest and deliberate targeting. Yet, Palestinian journalists continue to be treated as “legitimate targets” by occupation forces, with administrative detention employed as a tool to suppress free expression and limit independent reporting—particularly amid continued attacks on Gaza and growing documentation of potential war crimes.
The ongoing detention of Palestinian journalists without charge and under secretive conditions constitutes a grave violation that demands urgent international action. Press freedom and human rights organisations are being urged to intensify pressure on Israel to secure the immediate release of Samer Khuwaira and all detained journalists, and to call for an end to the widespread and arbitrary use of administrative detention against Palestinian media professionals and activists.
