Arab News | Israel extends detention of Palestinian journalist accused of ‘contacting foreign agent’

LONDON: Israel has extended the detention of Palestinian journalist Abed Abu Shehadeh, whom it accuses of “contacting a foreign agent.”

Israeli police and the Shin Bet, the country’s internal intelligence agency, arrested the citizen of Israel at his home in Jaffa on Tuesday night. His wife and lawyer, Haneen Eghbariya, said that the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Magistrate’s Court had extended his detention until Sunday.

The court reviewed evidence that was not shared with his attorneys and the details of the allegations remain sealed.

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the arrest, saying that reporters “should not be punished for platforming views critical of the state.”

“We demand the immediate unconditional release of Abu Shehadeh, the dropping of all charges against him and an explanation of why he was targeted in what some have described as a political campaign,” said Sara Qudah, regional director for the US-based nonprofit organization.

Eghbariya told the CPJ that the investigation centered on an interview Abu Shehadeh conducted with Palestinian intellectual Azmi Bishara for his podcast “Al-Midan” on the Haifa-based news website Arab48.

Bishara, a former member of Israel’s Knesset now living in exile, has been accused by Israeli authorities of espionage and treason.

Eghbariya said that Shin Bet investigators questioned her husband overnight and denied his request to consult a lawyer.

A police representative accused him of acting as a political adviser, despite initially acknowledging that he was a journalist, she said.

Abu Shehadeh has worked in journalism for more than 10 years and publishes in three languages. He writes for Arab48, the independent Israeli news site Local Call and its English-language sister publication +972 Magazine.

He has also appeared on Al Jazeera as a political analyst covering Israel’s recent elections.

Abu Shehadeh is the first cousin of Sami Abu Shehadeh, leader of the Balad party, who withdrew from the recent Israeli elections under pressure from right-wing and centrist Zionist parties.

Sami Abu Shehadeh said that his cousin’s detention was part of a right-wing effort to discredit the election results.

In a statement on Wednesday +972 Magazine said that it stood in solidarity with Abu Shehadeh.