CPJ slams Israel’s abduction of Press TV journalist, demands her immediate release

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned Israel’s abduction of Press TV journalist Naqaa Hamed and demanded her immediate release. Hamed was abducted on Tuesday at a temporary Israeli army checkpoint in the village of Tuqu, near Bethlehem, as she was returning from a work assignment in Masafer Yatta near Hebron. She was traveling with two cameramen, Wissam Hajouj and Hamada Mansour, who were later released, when Israeli soldiers stopped their vehicle and photographed the crew before taking Hamed away. Hajouj said the soldiers questioned Hamed separately about her reporting and journalistic work before taking her into custody at the checkpoint. The journalist was subsequently taken to an Israeli police station near Salfit, where she remained in Israeli custody. An Israeli military court on Wednesday extended Hamed’s custody until September 23, prolonging the ordeal faced by the journalist. Her husband, Bashar Abed, told CPJ that an Israeli online campaign had been calling for her abduction because of her work as a journalist. Hamed, 38, is a Palestinian-American journalist and mother of three who has more than 15 years of experience in journalism and joined Press TV in 2024. She has reported extensively from the occupied West Bank, including on Israeli military raids against Palestinians. CPJ regional director Sara Qudah demanded Hamed’s immediate release and called for an end to the systematic harassment and intimidation targeting journalists in the occupied West Bank. “Israeli authorities should immediately free Hamed and publicly clarify the legal basis for her detention,” Qudah said. Appeal filed for Press TV reporter Naqaa Hamed as Israel prolongs her unlawful detention A new hearing has been scheduled for next Tuesday to consider the appeal. The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) has also condemned Israel’s continued holding of Hamed and described the extension of her custody as part of an escalating campaign against Palestinian journalists. The syndicate said on September 17 that the number of Palestinian journalists held by Israel had reached 39, including five women, with 21 journalists being held under so-called “administrative detention.” Administrative detention is a legal system that allows Israeli authorities to imprison Palestinians without charge or trial indefinitely. Hamed’s abduction comes amid a wider Israeli crackdown on Palestinian journalists, with reporters repeatedly detained, assaulted, and prevented from covering events across the occupied West Bank. The PJS said Israel had killed at least 264 Palestinian journalists in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip since October 2023, when the regime launched its genocidal war on Gaza, including eight journalists during the first half of 2026. The syndicate also documented 193 arrests of Palestinian journalists between October 2023 and the end of June 2026, alongside thousands of other violations targeting Palestinian media workers.