Israeli forces have detained veteran Palestinian journalist Ali Samoudi during a pre-dawn raid on his son’s residence in the occupied West Bank.
The operation took place in the city of Jenin, where Samoudi’s son, Mohammad, told CNN that Israeli soldiers arrived at approximately 5 a.m. and took the 58-year-old journalist to an undisclosed location.
According to Mohammad Samoudi, his father was subjected to a “field interrogation” lasting around 30 minutes, during which the soldiers also searched the property and caused damage to some of its contents.
Ali Samoudi is a seasoned journalist known for his contributions to the Palestinian Al-Quds newspaper, and he has also worked with several international media organisations, including CNN, Al Jazeera, and Reuters.
In May 2022, Samoudi was with Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh near the entrance to the Jenin refugee camp when she was fatally shot by Israeli forces. Samoudi himself sustained injuries in the same incident.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has condemned both the raid and Samoudi’s arrest, calling it part of a broader pattern of targeting media professionals.
He is the latest in a growing list of Palestinian journalists arrested by Israeli forces over the past 18 months.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 84 journalists have been arrested by Israeli forces across the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem since the onset of the Gaza conflict in October 2023
