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August 23, 2025 – Palestine –
A harrowing situation has emerged for Ali al‑Samoudi, a 58-year-old Palestinian journalist widely respected for his decades-long field reporting amid conflict. Detained by Israeli forces in a pre-dawn raid on April 29, 2025, at his son’s home in Jenin, al‑Samoudi remains held without charge under administrative detention, a practice allowing detention with no trial or formal accusation for extended periods.
His physical and psychological condition has deteriorated severely. The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) reports that he suffers from chronic illnesses—diabetes, hypertension, and stomach ulcers—and is significantly malnourished due to withheld medical care. He also continues to be impacted by live bullet fragments lodged in his head from a previous injury sustained while covering Israeli military actions.
Al‑Samoudi’s trajectory reflects a disturbing pattern of targeting: he has been detained and assaulted repeatedly over the years and was injured at least eleven times while reporting from Jenin. Notably, he was shot in the back in May 2022 while covering a raid alongside slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, and still bears residual impacts.
PJS condemns his ongoing detention without charge—now into its sixth month—as in violation of international law and a glaring example of a systematic campaign to silence Palestinian journalists. They warn that his rapidly declining health may become fatal if urgent action is not taken. The union has demanded his immediate, unconditional release and called for urgent international intervention from human rights and press freedom bodies to protect him and hold Israeli authorities accountable before international courts.
Al‑Samoudi has also played a crucial role as a key witness in the International Criminal Court case concerning the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. He previously addressed the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on press freedom violations, making his protection all the more critical in the face of continued threats.
Since the outbreak of conflict in October 2023, nearly 150 Palestinian journalists have been detained, with around 50 still imprisoned, most under administrative detention, highlighting a broader assault on press freedom in the occupied territories.
Reference –
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