Monday, November 18, 2024

Palestinian WAFA journalist Rasha Herzallah jailed for 6 months by Israeli court


Rasha Herzallah, 39, worked for WAFA at the time of her arrest last June (Screengrab)

Arab News
November 17, 2024

Detention extended 5 times before ‘incitement on social media’ charge was brought

LONDON: An Israeli military court sentenced Palestinian journalist Rasha Herzallah to six months in jail on Sunday and fined her 13,000 shekels ($3,300).

Herzallah, 39, was working for the official Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA) at the time of her arrest last June, when she was summoned to an investigation at the Israeli Huwwara detention center north of the occupied West Bank.

Her detention was extended five times before a charge of “incitement on social media” was brought to court at the Israeli Salem military base near Jenin. She is expected to be released from prison on Dec. 1.

Herzallah is the sister of Muhammad Herzallah, who died in November 2023 after being shot in the head by Israeli forces during a raid on Nablus city, WAFA reported. She is among 94 Palestinian journalists currently detained in Israeli jails.

WAFA reported that three other female journalists, Rola Hassanin, Bushra Al-Tawil and Amal Shujaiyah, a journalism student from Birzeit University, also remain in detention.

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