ISRAEL, WEST BANK, Aug 24 - The Coalition For Women In Journalism is appalled by the Israeli travel ban on our colleague, Palestinian journalist Majdoleen Hassouna.

Majdoleen — who works for Turkey’s state-owned TRT’s Arabic service, was attempting to return to Istanbul from the West Bank on August 18, when she was turned away from an Israel-controlled check point, and asked not to leave the territory. The Palestinian journalist had gone home to spend Eid with her family in Nablus, a city in the West Bank, and was expected to return to Istanbul via Jordan.

In order to leave, Majdoleen would have had to clear three checkpoints, the Palestinian, the Israeli and then finally the Jordanian. She was first detained by Palestinian intelligence and was only able to proceed after journalist unions’ lobbied against her detention. At the Israeli checkpoint, she was detained for several hours after which she was told she could not leave the West Bank and told to return. The journalist eventually missed her flight, which was scheduled for 10pm.

Majdoleen’s husband who had accompanied her at the time was allowed to return to Istanbul. Mohamad Kheiry, who also works for TRT, explained the situation through a Facebook post that read, “I arrived alone in Istanbul. She goes to Israeli intelligence every day in an attempt to find out what is happening, and every day they tell her to come back tomorrow.”

According to him, the couple was due to hold a wedding ceremony in Istanbul. However, following the ban on Majdoleen, the event could not take place.

This is the first time Majdoleen has faced a ban, despite several past skirmishes — in the form of arrests and detentions — with both Palestinian and Israeli authorities. In June 2018, Majdoleen was physically assaulted by Palestinian security officers during a protest in Tulkarem, West Bank. Before the incident, she was reportedly surveilled by Palestinian security forces, as well as detained and interrogated on her return from Turkey.

In May 2014, the journalist was arrested by Israeli forces and was also summoned by the Palestinian public prosecution in December the same year.CFWIJ finds the restriction on her movement reprehensible and urge relevant authorities to immediately rectify the situation. Majdoleen must be allowed to return to her work in Istanbul — and not allowing her to do so is akin to silencing her voice as a journalist.

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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ.

Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org