An Arab nongovernmental organization (NGO) documented 148 “Israeli” rights violations against Palestinian journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories last month.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Journalists Support Committee said the month of May witnessed a surge in attacks on Palestinian journalists by “Israeli” forces and settlers.

It termed the attacks as "an attempt to prevent Palestinian journalists from covering “Israeli” assaults against Palestinians and their holy sites."

According to the NGO, the “Israeli” violations varied from arrests, intimidation, shooting, verbal and physical assaults to car-ramming incidents.

It said 11 journalists were detained by “Israeli” forces in the West Bank during May, while the custody of five others were extended without trial.

"[Israeli] forces, in collaboration with settlers, disrupted the work of 61 journalists and media institutions while covering “Israeli” violations in the cities of Jerusalem, Hebron and Jenin," it added.

The NGO also noted that the social media accounts of 11 Palestinian journalists were suspended for alleged violations of publication rules.

Last month, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, was shot dead while covering an “Israeli” military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Palestinian officials and her employer, Al Jazeera, said she was killed by “Israeli” forces.

There was no comment from “Israeli” authorities on the NGO’s report./aa