Palestinian journalist Mujahed Al-Saadi 'violently arrested' by Israel in Jenin

Israeli forces arrested Palestinian journalist Mujahed Al-Saadi at dawn on Thursday during the storming of his home in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

According to Al-Saadi’s brother Amjad, the raid on his house occurred around 2.30am, The New Arab’s Arabic sister outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported. The storming began when a supposedly civilian car without licence plates approached the area surrounding Al-Saadi's home in the neighbourhood of Harsh Al-Saada, western Jenin.

After circling the area for a few minutes, the car withdrew, followed shortly by the arrival of several Israeli army vehicles, which then completely surrounded and besieged the area.

Israeli soldiers then broke down the door and stormed the house where Al-Saadi was asleep. The journalist was arrested while still in his sleepwear and barefoot. When his wife attempted to offer him shoes, she was beaten by the soldiers, Amjad told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

In addition to the arrest, the forces confiscated his mobile phones before bundling him into a military jeep.

Amjad said his brother was beaten by the soldiers both at the time of his arrest and when he was dragged off to the military jeep.

So far, there has been no confirmation from Israel about Al-Saadi’s whereabouts, but his family, in cooperation with a lawyer, is working to determine his fate.

Al-Saadi works as a journalist for several Palestinian media outlets and has previously been arrested by Israeli occupation forces, spending nearly five years in Israeli prisons. Last month, he was shot in the leg by Israeli soldiers while covering the brutal Israeli assault on Jenin that began in August and ended earlier in September leaving 36 Palestinians dead, including children.

Al-Saadi is well-known throughout the occupied West Bank and internationally for his reporting, having documented Israeli crimes in Jenin but also across the occupied Palestinian territory.

Amjad said Al-Saadi's arrest is the latest in a series of targeted assaults against the journalist, having survived two assassination attempts.

While there is no proof Israel was behind both assassinations, since 7 October, Israeli occupation forces has been accused of ramping up their targeting of journalists in the Palestinian territory, resulting in the deaths of 164 journalists in Gaza and injuring more than 190.

In the West Bank, 88 media offices have been destroyed, with hundreds of attacks reported against journalists, including the killing of journalist Ibrahim Muhammedi from Tulkarm.

Dozens of journalists have been wounded by gunfire during Israeli raids, and more than 100 journalists have been arrested across the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza.

Two journalists from Gaza have also been missing since the start of the war.