Israeli court sentences Palestinian reporter to community service for incitement

Lama Ghosheh, from East Jerusalem, gets 3-year suspended term for allegedly praising terror activities on social media

By AFP 11 July 2023, 11:56 pm 15 Edit

Palestinian journalist Lama Ghosheh poses for a picture on March 21, 2023, at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court. (Hiba Aslan/AFP)

An Israeli court on Tuesday ordered a Palestinian journalist from East Jerusalem to perform community service and handed down a three-year suspended sentence, her lawyer said, after she was charged with incitement to violence.

Lama Ghosheh, 30, a freelance reporter for various Palestinian media outlets, was detained in September and placed under house arrest.

In addition to incitement, she was accused of “identification with a terrorist group,” according to the indictment which cited Facebook posts and messages as evidence. Ghosheh allegedly praised terror activities in the West Bank and Gaza.

The charge sheet described her work as a journalist and her thousands of online followers as giving her posts greater weight.

Ghosheh’s lawyer, Mohammed Mahmoud, said she was ordered to perform nine months of community service.

The three-year suspended sentence means she could be arrested again “in case of any violation committed” over that period.

The court also fined her 4,500 shekels ($1,220), said Mahmoud, vowing to appeal the verdict.

The journalists’ union said the verdict “aggravates the violations committed by the occupation authorities against journalists in the framework of their professional work and their freedom of opinion and expression.”