Israel extends detention of Palestinian journalist Abed Abou Shhadeh

An Israeli court has extended the detention of Palestinian journalist and political activist Abed Abou Shhadeh who was arrested this week. Abou Shhadeh was detained after Israeli security forces raided his home in Jaffa overnight on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court ruled that he will remain in custody until Sunday, November 8.

Abou Shhadeh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, hosts the al-Midan podcast for the Arab48 website and appeared as an analyst on Al Jazeera during coverage of the recent Israeli election. Police had requested an eight-day extension to his detention on suspicion of “contact with a foreign agent”. The legal rights group Adalah, which is part of his defence team, said it would appeal.

Speaking on Al Jazeera, Adalah founder Hassan Jabareen said Abou Shhadeh had been charged with receiving money from foreign agents in order to support Arab-Israeli voters. Jabareen dismissed the charges as fabricated. “There is no evidence that [Abou Shhadeh] received money from anyone,” he told Al Jazeera.