PA reportedly arrests Al Jazeera journalist covering prisoner exchange

A prominent Al Jazeera journalist was detained by the Palestinian Authority (PA) while covering the first day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, according to local media. 

Quds Network reported that Givara Budeiri and her cameraperson were arrested on Sunday evening while producing a report awaiting the release of Palestinian detainees due to be freed in a prisoner exchange deal. 

The two were taken to the Palestinian Preventive Security’s (PPS) Beitunia police headquarters, near Ramallah. 

Moments before, Budeiri reported live for Al Jazeera Arabic outside Israel’s Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank. 

She had been monitoring preparations for the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners, 69 of whom were expected to be women and 21 children. 

Al Jazeera did not immediately comment on the incident.

According to the truce agreement, the first phase, which will last six weeks, will involve the exchange of 33 Israeli captives and around 1,800 Palestinian prisoners and a return to “sustainable calm”.

On Sunday afternoon, Hamas released Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari, who is also a British citizen.

They were handed to the Red Cross in the middle of Gaza City and transfered to their families in Israel while crowds in Tel Aviv watched in anticipation.

Israeli authorities were yet to release the 90 Palestinian prisoners – mostly minors or women – on Sunday evening as their families waited outside Ofer prison.

Al Jazeera said Khalida Jarrar, one of the most prominent leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), would be among those freed on Sunday.

Unlike previous prisoner exchanges, the Israeli army has imposed strict security measures to prevent public gatherings outside the prison. 

Palestinians have been warned not to gather near the prison yard or approach in their vehicles, with successive warnings issued to keep the area clear. The homes of prisoners due to be released were also raided.

PA crackdown on Al Jazeera

Earlier this month, the PA suspended the broadcasting of Al Jazeera TV in the West Bank, some of which the authority administers, after accusing the news service of publishing “inciting material”. 

A ministerial committee accused Al Jazeera of violating the “laws and regulations in force in Palestine” and saying it “decided to temporarily stop the broadcast and freeze all the work of its journalists, employees, crews and channels affiliated with it”.

“This decision came after Al Jazeera insisted on broadcasting inciteful materials and reports characterised by being misleading, inciting sedition, and interference in Palestinian internal affairs,” the committee said.

In May, Israel also implemented a ban on Al Jazeera after raiding its office in occupied East Jerusalem and confiscating its equipment.

In September, Israeli forces raided Al Jazeera’s office in the West Bank city of Ramallah and ordered it to shut down operations.