Israeli Politicsupdated 1h ago3 min read
MapIsraeli Court Extends Detention Of Palestinian Journalist Abed Abou Shhadeh In Jaffa
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Israeli court extended detention after a late-night raid on his Jaffa home. Detention extended until Sunday, November 8, per Tel Aviv Magistrate's ruling.
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Detention Extended
An Israeli court extended the detention of Palestinian journalist and political activist Abed Abou Shhadeh after Israeli security forces raided his home in Jaffa overnight on Tuesday. Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court ruled that he would remain in custody until Sunday, November 8, and police requested an eight-day extension on suspicion of “contact with a foreign agent”. Adalah founder Hassan Jabareen told Al Jazeera that “There is no evidence that [Abou Shhadeh] received money from anyone,” and he said police “searched his house and found nothing.”
Adalah said about 15 security officers, some of them masked, confiscated electronic devices and books in front of his two children, and Arab48 reported police initially refused to tell his family where he was being held. Jabareen said the detention was part of a campaign by the head of the Shin Bet and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding, “The motive behind all of this is the election,” while he argued it was meant “to show that Arab voters and political parties are illegal, so they can’t make a coalition with Eisonkot.”
Accusations and Appeals
Balad, through the Joint List, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shin Bet director David Zini of trying to “steal the elections,” and it described the detention of Abed Abu Shehadeh as a “citizen abduction.” Amir Badran accused Shin Bet on X of performing “a coup d’état against Israel’s democracy in Netanyahu’s service,” after the party said security forces refused to present an arrest warrant and stole objects from his home without handing over a list. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court extended the detention until Sunday as lawyers argued the investigation focused solely on a published interview with former MK Azmi Bishara.
Adalah attorney Hadeel Abu Salih rejected the basis for detention, saying, “Abed Abu Shehadeh’s interrogation and detention concern a single interview,” and she added, “This is not a criminal investigation; it is a campaign to silence Palestinian journalists and political activists.” The Jerusalem Post also said Judge Shelley Kutin found reasonable suspicion and grounds for continued detention, including a risk of obstructing investigative steps, while Adalah said it would appeal the decision.
Election Fallout and Risks
The detention unfolded as Israeli media reported that Abou Shhadeh was arrested after taking part in an interview in Qatar with the Palestinian intellectual Azmi Bishara, and Abou Shhadeh’s lawyers said his interrogation focused solely on that interview. Adalah said police raised no allegations against Abou Shhadeh other than the interview, and it said the interview covered the Israeli election campaign and Palestinians and remains publicly available. The Jerusalem Post said the Central Elections Committee on Wednesday approved results giving Netanyahu’s coalition parties 53 seats, the opposition bloc 48 and the Arab parties 19, and it said the review found no evidence of compromised election integrity or changes to the results.
The Jerusalem Post also said Likud challenged the legitimacy of the results, while the Shin Bet sought to question senior Arab political figures in an investigation into suspected foreign interference, and it said no connection had been publicly established between Abu Shehadeh’s arrest and that investigation. Hassan Jabareen told Al Jazeera that “All of this story [is] part of the campaign by the head of [the Shin Bet] and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” and he said it was meant “to show that Arab voters in Israel are not kosher, are illegal,” as Palestinian and Jewish activists protested outside the court on Wednesday to demand his release.