Israel arrested 8 women, 42 Palestinian journalists in 2025: report

The Journalists' Association said that Israel detained 42 Palestinian journalists in 2025, including eight women, continuing the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists.
According to documentation and monitoring, the Association's Freedom Committee recorded 42 instances of arrests of male and female Palestinian journalists during 2025.
The report stated that these arrests took place in various locations in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, and other occupied territories, at military checkpoints and crossings, during coverage, and during home raids.
The report indicated that the decrease in arrests compared to 2023 and 2024 suggests that Israel's focus has shifted from 'quantity' to 'quality'.
The report stated that this shift is evident in the focus on the most influential journalists, repeated arrests of the same journalist, increased use of administrative detention without charge or trial, and the use of physical and psychological violence as a means of repression.
The Association also said that the committee documented incidents where journalists were detained while covering military raids and settler attacks.
The report further stated that "this confirms that arrests have become a direct means of emptying the field of witnesses and preventing the transmission of reality."
The report said that in 2025, Israel began to specifically target Palestinian female journalists through arrests, investigations, and deportations, with some women being re-arrested.
The report, citing the committee's findings, said that these violations are also linked to the documented testimonies of foreign female journalists who have confessed to being tortured by Israel.
The report stated that "the committee emphasized that these serious violations, in line with the documented testimonies of foreign female journalists who have been subjected to arbitrary detention in prisons, can be classified as serious violations equivalent to international crimes."
The Palestinian Journalists' Association called on the international community, human rights organizations, the United Nations, and special rapporteurs on freedom of expression to fulfill their legal and moral obligations, intervene immediately, and hold Israeli leaders accountable for their crimes against Palestinian journalism.
"Finally, the Freedom Committee reaffirmed that Palestinian journalism will continue its professional and national role despite all pressures and arrests, and that targeting journalists will not silence the truth or erase crimes."