REPORT: SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom documents systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists, photographers, and artists in December 2025. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate recorded 99 violations across Palestinian territories, with 48 detention cases in the West Bank alone. Named arrests include writer Sari Arabi (Dec 25), Palestine TV reporter Ahmad Shawar and photographer Bashar Nazzal (Dec 4), and comedian Amer Zahr in Nazareth (Dec 27). Israeli police also raided Haifa's Nayruz Music Institute Christmas performance, arresting three participants.
Two prominent Palestinian creatives, visual artist Amna Al-Salmi and photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab, were among those killed when Israeli forces bombed the al-Baqa café in Gaza City. Once a vital social and cultural hub, the café offered rare space for connection and creativity under siege. Their deaths underscore the devastating toll of the war on Gaza’s civilian life and cultural memory.
