We issued the following statement today after learning that Israeli authorities have detained Jared Malsin, a U.S. citizen and editor-in-chief of the English-language section of the independent Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency, at the Tel Aviv airport. Malsin was due to be expelled without a hearing on Thursday morning. Protests by the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem have resulted in a reversal. Malsin will now appear before a judge for a deportation hearing on Thursday morning, according to his colleagues at Ma’an…
“Forcing a journalist who has violated no laws to leave Israel and the Occupied Territories is unacceptable,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ’s program coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. “Israel cannot hide behind the pretext of security to sideline journalists who have done nothing more than maintain an editorial line that the authorities dislike. Israel should release Jared Malsin without delay and allow him to resume his work.”