Farah Abu Ayyash, a Palestinian journalist working with Iran’s Tasnim news agency, has revealed the torture and mistreatment she endured during more than 110 days in Israeli custody.

Abu Ayyash, who is based in Hebron (Al-Khalil) in the southern West Bank, was arrested on August 6, 2025, when Israeli soldiers raided her home in Beit Ummar, north of the city. She was transferred to the Moskobiya detention center in occupied Jerusalem (al-Quds), where she says was subjected to torture, harassment, and abuse by prison guards.

For months, Tasnim refrained from publicizing her case due to concerns about her legal proceedings in Israeli courts and potential risks to her family. However, after Abu Ayyash managed to send out her testimony from prison, describing the abuse she suffered, the news outlet decided to make her ordeal public. 

Tasnim stressed that her work was strictly journalistic, focused on documenting the human cost of occupation in the West Bank and expressing solidarity with Gaza following Israel’s October 2023 assault. The outlet rejected Israeli claims that she was involved in activities beyond her professional duties.

Abu Ayyash’s case reflects a wider pattern of repression against Palestinian and foreign journalists in the occupied territories. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that approximately 250 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 2023, including more than 200 Palestinians in Gaza. Foreign reporters remain barred from entering the enclave, leaving local journalists to bear the brunt of Israel’s war. CPJ also says dozens of arrests, injuries, and assaults, alongside censorship and threats against reporters’ families.

In the West Bank, repression has escalated. Reporters Without Borders and ARTICLE 19 document arbitrary detentions, shootings, and restrictions on movement, while settler violence against journalists has surged. The United Nations recorded more than 260 settler attacks in October 2025 alone, many targeting reporters during the olive harvest.