Journalist Abd Abu Shahada accused Israeli authorities of using their powers to intimidate journalists and Arab citizens after his release from five days in Shin Bet custody on suspicion of contact with a foreign agent. In an interview with 103FM on Monday, November 9, he described his arrest and defended the legality of his reporting.
Abu Shahada said officers arrived at his home the previous Tuesday at about 10:30 or 11 p.m. and showed him warrants authorizing his arrest and a search. He said he cooperated, allowing them inside without resistance. Within hours, he was being questioned at the Shin Bet facility in Petah Tikva. He declined to describe the interrogation, saying the continuing investigation prevented him from discussing it.
Describing his professional background, Abu Shahada said he had worked in journalism for roughly seven or eight years and published hundreds of articles in Arabic, English and Hebrew. He also hosts a Thursday podcast with more than 260 episodes, featuring guests whose views he sometimes shares and sometimes challenges. His work, he said, focuses on Arab citizens and explaining their politics to an Arabic-speaking audience.
He maintained that his activities were public and lawful, pointing to an interview published on October 26 and saying he had consulted senior lawyers. Abu Shahada also said he had been invited to comment on elections for Al Jazeera English. Because a substantial portion of his journalism is in English, he said, he checked whether accepting the invitation was permitted and was advised that it was legal provided he had a visa and met the relevant legal requirements.
Asked about published reports attributing to him descriptions of the investigation as politically motivated and his arrest as a Shin Bet witch hunt, Abu Shahada said he did not know where those speaking on his behalf had obtained that statement. He nevertheless accused those in power of trying to create fear among journalists and Arab citizens. He argued that Arab participation in the latest elections had affected Israel's political map and the distribution of Knesset seats, prompting an effort to exploit state power.
The interviewer also asked whether his arrest was connected to the Shin Bet chief's allegations of election interference and criticism from the change bloc, which viewed those allegations as an attempt to delegitimize the results. Abu Shahada said he had not caught up with recent news after detention, during which he could not tell morning from night. He said his political instincts suggested a connection, while noting that Justice Noam Solberg had approved the elections and said nothing unlawful had occurred internally on Election Day.
Abu Shahada ended by warning that the powers used against him could reach other journalists, including those in mainstream media. He described those mechanisms as excessively powerful and said there was no reason to assume their use would end with his case.
