An Israeli court on Tuesday extended the months‑long house arrest of Lama Ghosheh, a Palestinian journalist from annexed east Jerusalem who is accused of incitement over her Facebook posts, her lawyer said. Ghosheh, a 30‑year‑old freelance reporter for various Palestinian media outlets, was detained in September, spent ten days in jail and was then placed under house arrest. The indictment accuses her of “incitement to violence” and “identification with a terrorist group,” citing her Facebook posts and messages as evidence. It notes that, as a journalist with thousands of online followers, her posts carry greater weight.
At the Jerusalem magistrates court, Ghosheh’s lawyer Mohammed Mahmoud announced that officials have postponed the verdict until April 18, during which time she will remain under house arrest. Mahmoud added that the court is considering a penalty of community service rather than a prison term if his client is convicted.
Ghosheh told AFP that her Facebook posts reflected “the narrative of the Palestinian street and weren’t invented from my imagination.” She arrived at the court with her three‑ and five‑year‑old children, saying, “I brought my two children with me because I want them to face the fear that has been in their minds since the moment I was arrested.” She described house arrest as turning her home “from a safe place and space into a space of authority and control.”
Israel has occupied east Jerusalem since the 1967 Six‑Day War and bans political activities related to the Palestinian Authority, which regards the eastern part of the city as the capital of a future state. On Monday, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir ordered the closure of the east Jerusalem office of Voice of Palestine, a public broadcaster based in the occupied West Bank, accusing it of “incitement and supporting terror” and claiming it lacked a license to operate in Jerusalem. The New York‑based Committee to Protect Journalists called on Israeli authorities to “immediately reverse their order” to shut the office and “cease harassing members of the press.”
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