Al Jazeera journalist arrested by Israeli police in East Jerusalem

Israeli police arrested an Al Jazeera journalist who was covering a demonstration in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on June 5, Al Jazeera said.

Givara Budeiri, who has worked for the channel since 2000, was released after several hours on the condition that she does not return to Sheikh Jarrah for 15 days, they said.

Budeiri said she was told that she would be imprisoned if she returned to the neighborhood.

Budeiri, who was wearing a blue vest marked “press,” said the police approached her “aggressively,” requested to see her permit, and did not give her enough time to present it before handcuffing her.

She said she was assaulted and treated “like a criminal.” Following her release, she said, “it is obvious that it was a direct targeting of Al Jazeera and all journalists.”

Tension escalated across the Palestinian territories since mid-April over an Israeli court verdict to evict eight Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Israeli authorities, however, postponed giving a final decision on the eviction orders until December under Palestinian mass protests, including 11 days of fighting between Israel and Palestine in Gaza.