ISRAELI OCCUPIED WEST BANK, 10 Jan. - (ANA) - Israeli authorities have released a journalist working for The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed in the West Bank after detaining him for more than nine months.

 

Samer Khuweira, who is from Nablus in the north of the West Bank, appeared visibly emaciated and in poor health after he was released at an Israeli military checkpoint near Al-Dhahiriya near Hebron in the south of the occupied Palestinian territory.

 

A striking change was evident in his appearance compared to before his arrest; his features had altered noticeably and his body looked exhausted and frail.

 

Israel has tortured, abused, and starved Palestinian prisoners in detention, especially since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023.

 

Khuweira’s family told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that he will be transferred to An-Najah National University Hospital in Nablus as soon as he arrives home.

 

They added that they had feared until the last moment that he would be held in detention for much longer, due to Israel’s policy of “administrative detention”, under which Palestinian prisoners are held indefinitely without trial.

 

Khuweira was working with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed and several other media outlets when he was detained. A father of four, he was arrested on April 10 2025 and placed in administrative detention soon afterwards. The detention was renewed three times before he was released.

 

Israel has detained at least 217 journalists since the Gaza War began in October 2023, with around 40 believed to be still held by Israel. It has also killed nearly 300 journalists since the war on Gaza began, including Al-Jazeera correspondent Anas Al-Sharif.

 

It previously detained another Al-Araby Al-Jadeed correspondent from Gaza, Diaa Al-Kahlout, and held him in harrowing conditions for 33 days.

 

Two journalists from the Gaza Strip, Nidal Al-Wahidi and Haitham Abdulwahid, have been subjected to forced disappearance by Israel with no information on their current whereabouts.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/10 January 2026 - - -