DUBAI: Roll calls begin at 6:00 in the morning. More than 14 heavily armed Israeli guards, equipped with tear gas and military gear, stand watch as Palestinian prisoners are forced to kneel on the floor with their hands behind their heads.
Cells are routinely ransacked and the prisoners mercilessly beaten. Any display of relief or fleeting joy was not permitted. Reciting the Qur’an would only invite more abuse.
Among the prisoners was 59-year-old Ali Al Samoudi, a veteran journalist who spent decades documenting stories in the West Bank.
Accused by Israel’s Ofer Military Court on counts of “harming the security of the region and mishandling funds,” allegations he vehemently denies, Al Samoudi was held under administrative detention orders, which permits the Israeli military to incarcerate Palestinians without trial for up to six months, with the possibility of indefinite renewal.
His ordeal lasted a year.
Ali Al Samoudi reporting in the occupied West Bank. (supplied)
Al Samoudi is one of 105 Palestinian journalists who have been detained since Oct. 7, 2023, the majority of whom have been held without charge, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“The policies, procedures, and punishments that Israel has practiced since Oct. 7 have turned prisons into graveyards of the living,” he told Arab News.
Al Samoudi was arrested at his home in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, in front of his daughter.
“I was unable to wipe her tears or hug her. I was told I would only accompany the arresting officers for three hours. I never expected it to last a year.”
Despite never having been convicted of a crime, he was placed under administrative detention.
“It was a nightmare, I couldn’t sleep a wink, I didn’t know what my fate would be, especially as I was denied visits from both my family and lawyer. My detention was then renewed for a second and third time.”
Al Samoudi and his legal team believe his arrest was arbitrary, a targeting of his work as a journalist.
He was subsequently moved between prison barracks and frequently assaulted by Israeli soldiers without any regard to his age or medical condition.
“When they transferred me to Megiddo Prison, they beat and forced me to strip completely naked. My glasses were broken, and I was thrown into my cell wearing the filthy clothes I was given,” he said.
Despite spending years reporting on Palestinian prisoners, Al Samoudi said he was still shocked by the conditions inside, describing prison life as “nothing but isolation, siege, and starvation.
“I was held in a section with 17 rooms, each containing 10 prisoners. We slept on filthy mattresses with foul-smelling blankets that offered no protection from the winter cold. We had no books, no pens, nothing to keep us occupied.”
Although prisons once housed large libraries before the war on Gaza, Israeli authorities had destroyed them all.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner consisted of mere spoonfuls of labneh, jam, rice and a handful of white beans. Prisoners were also given slices of cucumbers and tomatoes alongside a boiled egg and small pieces of bread.
“That was our diet, even during Ramadan. Throughout our detention, there was no salt or sugar, not even a piece of fruit. It was insufficient even for an infant.”
Ali Al Samoudi with his late friend and colleague Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank. (supplied)
Al Samoudi, who suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, lost 40 kg during his incarceration. He also suffers from lingering shrapnel wounds sustained throughout his career, most recently four years ago, when his colleague, Shireen Abu Akleh, was killed and he himself was shot in the back.
His legal team argued there was no justification for his continued detention. Addressing the judge directly during one of his last court hearings, Al Samoudi said: “I now have 10 illnesses; every moment I spend in prison poses a threat to my life.
“I am a journalist and committed to practicing my profession. I have never posed, nor do I ever pose, any threat to Israeli security. In fact, I work openly in front of the Israeli army. I want to return to my life and my family. My youngest granddaughter, whom I waited years for, was born while I was in prison, and I have never seen or known her. I am also ill, and my continued imprisonment poses a danger to my life.”
After the Israeli military prosecution failed to present evidence against him, the judge ordered his release following his third detention extension.
Yet, even then, Al Samoudi said he remained haunted until the moment he stepped outside the prison gates.
Ali Al Samoudi upon his release from Negev prison on April 29, 2026. (supplied)
The world watched him, frail and visibly weakened, prostrating in prayer and gratitude upon his release from the notorious Ktzi’ot Prison in Israel’s Negev Desert in April.
“One remains armed with will and determination. I believe in the sanctity of my mission as a journalist to convey the message of life, justice, democracy, and dignity. I belong to the great message and principles of my people,” he told Arab News.
As Palestinian prisoners continue to languish inside Israeli prisons, a controversial new law expanding the use of the death penalty against Palestinians officially came into force on Sunday night after Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli military’s Central Command, signed the necessary military order.
The legislation, approved by the Knesset in March, establishes the death penalty as the default sentence for Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly attacks against Israelis deemed to be motivated by terrorism, unless military judges find exceptional grounds to impose life imprisonment instead.
Under the new provisions, military courts can issue death sentences through a simple majority decision rather than a unanimous ruling, while also stripping away the possibility of pardons or sentence reductions. The law applies exclusively to Palestinians and does not extend to Israeli citizens.
