Israel kidnaps Palestinian journalist in Al-Khalil

October 19, 2009

AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped Sunday a Palestinian journalist called Iyad Sorour from Al-Khalil city, south of the West Bank, only one month after his release from the Palestinian Authority’s jails.

The forum of Palestinian journalists said in a press release that a large number of IOF troops stormed the house of Sorour in the city and took him to an unknown destination.

The forum affirmed that Sorour spent 10 months in the PA intelligence’s jail and was released a month ago, adding that he was detained for 14 months in Israeli jails in 2002.

The forum appealed to the international federation of journalists, the organization of reporters without borders and the union of Arab journalists to intervene and pressure Israel to release immediately all journalists in its jails.

It also called on Mahmoud Abbas to instruct his militias in the West Bank to release journalists detained in his jails and end restrictions imposed on their freedom.

Nine other Palestinian citizens have been also kidnapped at dawn Monday during raids carried out by IOF troops on homes in different West Bank areas.

In another context, the lawyer of the Palestinian prisoners' society reported Sunday that the Ofer prison administration imposed a number of punitive measures on Palestinian prisoners in section nine at the pretext of tampering with the section’s door lock, the thing which was denied by prisoners.

The lawyer added that the prison administration deprived prisoners from visits and the canteen for one month and a half as of 18 October.

He also said that the prisoners complained about the Red Cross’s neglect of their needs, saying that they did not receive yet what they asked the Red Cross representatives to bring with them, including books and clothes, because they had not visited the prison for four months.