Hamed was abducted on Tuesday at a temporary Israeli army checkpoint in the village of Tuqu, near Bethlehem, as she was returning from a work assignment in Masafer Yatta near Hebron.
She was traveling with two cameramen, Wissam Hajouj and Hamada Mansour, who were later released, when Israeli soldiers stopped their vehicle and photographed the crew before taking Hamed away.
Hajouj said the soldiers questioned Hamed separately about her reporting and journalistic work before taking her into custody at the checkpoint.
The journalist was subsequently taken to an Israeli police station near Salfit, where she remained in Israeli custody.
An Israeli military court on Wednesday extended Hamed’s custody until September 23, prolonging the ordeal faced by the journalist.
Her husband, Bashar Abed, told CPJ that an Israeli online campaign had been calling for her abduction because of her work as a journalist.
Hamed, 38, is a Palestinian-American journalist and mother of three who has more than 15 years of experience in journalism and joined Press TV in 2024.
She has reported extensively from the occupied West Bank, including on Israeli military raids against Palestinians.
CPJ regional director Sara Qudah demanded Hamed’s immediate release and called for an end to the systematic harassment and intimidation targeting journalists in the occupied West Bank, according to Press TV.
“Israeli authorities should immediately free Hamed and publicly clarify the legal basis for her detention,” Qudah said.
MNA
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