SAFA - The Palestinian Center for Prisoners' Advocacy has drawn attention to the plight of journalist Mohammed Saber Arab, who has been imprisoned in Israeli jails for more than two years under conditions that are similar to what other Palestinian prisoners from Gaza have endured since the beginning of the Israeli genocide.

The center said Arab has been the victim of enforced disappearance, isolation, torture, ill-treatment and denial of fundamental rights since his detention.

Israeli occupation forces detained Arab, a correspondent for Al-Araby TV, on March 18, 2024, at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City. He was reporting from the field when Israeli forces entered the complex and detained several journalists, medical workers, and displaced Palestinians sheltering there.

Human rights reports and testimonies indicate that Arab has been subjected to harsh detention conditions, including prolonged isolation and mistreatment, while being denied meaningful contact with the outside world. Information about the fate and conditions of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza detained since the beginning of the genocide remains extremely difficult to obtain.

The center said Arab was transferred between several detention facilities, including military camps, before being held at the Negev Prison. Like many other prisoners from Gaza, he has reportedly been denied family visits, access to legal counsel, and regular monitoring by human rights organizations for extended periods.

Basic Rights Turned Into Legal Demands

The center said that even the most basic aspects of Arabs' daily life in prison demonstrate the extent of the restrictions imposed on Palestinian detainees.

"Simple details of his life inside prison reveal the extent of the violations prisoners suffer," the center said. It noted that, after more than two years in detention, Arab was forced to seek basic rights through the courts, including access to underwear and summer clothing and the ability to see his reflection in a mirror while shaving.

The center described these as fundamental rights that have effectively become demands requiring legal action within the Israeli prison system.

It said the systematic denial of basic necessities is intended to inflict psychological pressure on prisoners and turn detention into an additional form of punishment and humiliation. Prisoners from Gaza, it added, have faced particularly severe conditions since the beginning of the Israeli genocide.

Calls to Protect Palestinian Journalists

The center said the detention of Palestinian journalists constitutes a direct assault on press freedom and the right to document events on the ground. It noted that Israel continues to hold several Palestinian journalists, raising concerns that their detention is intended to prevent them from documenting alleged violations and crimes against Palestinians.

Journalists' unions and international media freedom organizations have expressed support for Arab and called for his release, as well as an end to the targeting and detention of Palestinian journalists while carrying out their professional duties.

The Palestinian Center for Prisoners' Advocacy called on international organizations, journalists' unions, and human rights groups to take urgent action to secure Arab's release and that of all detained Palestinian journalists. It also urged international pressure to ensure that Palestinian prisoners' human and legal rights are respected.

The center said Arab's case reflects the broader conditions faced by thousands of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza, whose whereabouts and circumstances remain unclear in many cases. It renewed calls for information about their fate, access for international organizations to detention facilities, and an end to the violations reportedly committed against them.