Said Hassanin's detention was extended for the third time yesterday (March 4), due to an interview he gave to Hamas' channel. His family members were also interrogated by the police, and he is now suspected, in addition to previous suspicions, of obstructing judicial proceedings.

Hassanin, a former editor at Nas Radio station and announcer for Bnei Sakhnin football club, was arrested on February 25 following an interview he gave to Hamas's Al-Aqsa channel. In the interview, according to a report in Haaretz, he said that "the Islamic resistance acted with complete humanity in accordance with Islamic law and proved to the world that Hamas preserves human dignity and respects the women who were taken captive on October 7. Hamas protected them according to religious teachings, Islamic law, and Palestinian conscience."

He also said that the hostage Omer Shem Tov kissed the head of one of the terrorists on stage in Gaza "to prove that they treated him humanely and with respect." According to Hassanin, "Shem Tov respects them as human beings and acknowledges that the female hostages were not harmed. There is a crucial distinction here between those who are barbaric and cruel and those who act humanely according to their doctrine, laws, and Islamic religious principles."

Regarding Palestinian citizens of Israel who enlist in the army, he said: "There are weak-minded individuals who join the army's ranks and serve the enemy's army. Hamas wanted to tell the Palestinians of Historical Palestine called Israeli Arabs, that they do not want them to join the enemy's army, the occupation army, and it's time for anyone who has become weak-minded or is just thinking about joining the occupation army to think a million times about where they're going, how they're selling their conscience, their morals, and their religion on this immoral, irreligious, and non-national path."

Police suspected Hassanin of contact with a foreign agent, publishing praise, sympathy, or encouragement for acts of terrorism, identifying with a terrorist organization and incitement to terrorism, as well as publicly displaying identification with a terrorist organization.. Since his arrest Hassanin was fired from his job at Nas Radio and his engagement with Bnei Sakhnin club was terminated.

A week after his arrest, and after two previous extensions, Hassanin's case was brought before Judge Ziad Salah for a third detention extension. Hassanin himself joined the hearing via video from the detention center.

Since the previous detention extension, the District Court rejected an appeal filed by Hassanin through his lawyer, Adv. Alaa Mahajna. The police demanded to receive seven more days of detention, this time adding obstruction of judicial proceedings to the existing suspicions.

Police representative Yossi Elofer confirmed in response to Adv. Mahajna that Hassanin is not suspected of incitement except for the words he said in the interview, and that the foreign agent with whom he was in contact is the interviewer who spoke to him on the Hamas channel. "That person who interviewed him is, from our perspective, a terrorist, according to the law. Anyone working on this channel, which is considered a terrorist organization, is a terrorist," Elofer declared.

In his response to Adv. Mahajna's questions, Elofer clarified that the new suspicion of obstructing judicial proceedings stems from Hassanin "deleting everything on his phone during the relevant dates and stating that he waited for the police to come arrest him. Meaning he knew he would be investigated and obstructed the investigation and concealed evidence." According to him, since they needed to consult the Attorney General before receiving approval to arrest the journalist, two days passed from the interview broadcast until the arrest, during which time Hassanin deleted the messages.

It was also revealed from Elofer's statement that Hassanin's family members were interrogated.

"In day and night, a person whose life's work is sports/football, is kidnapped by the police for a security threat," Adv. Mahajna summarized his arguments. "A wild incitement wave against him, hundreds of messages threatening his life, well-being, and honor. Overnight, he transformed from a known sports personality on Israeli television to a defendant in terrorism offenses. Since Tuesday, the suspect has been suffering in detention he is not accustomed to and was never invited for police investigation before. All claims about his dangerousness are unfounded claims."

Hassanin's lawyer added that "Yesterday's interrogation of the family conclusively proved that the police are seeking to punish Said for things he said. I am willing to assume that the words he said should not have been said and he should not have given an interview on the Al-Aqsa station. He understood this during the seven days he has sat in detention and will not repeat them in the future, certainly if restrictive conditions are imposed on him."

"In any case, harsh or provocative statements, whatever they may be, are a matter for an indictment. If the police believe there is a place to file an indictment, let them file it, there will be a trial, he will be held accountable, and if convicted, he will be held accountable for what he said. But today, after seven days, to request another seven days based on trickles of supplements from the prosecution that come to support this request seems to us not in accordance with detention laws, it is intended to implement deterrence and punishment considerations."

Judge Salah, after noting that the District Court also ruled that there is indeed a basis for suspicions and grounds for detention, rejected Adv. Mahajna's claims and accepted the police request almost in its entirety.

"A review of the investigation material shows that there is a significant basis for suspicions, when it is undisputed that the suspect here gave an interview to the Al-Aqsa channel, associated with Hamas, a channel that was outlawed in the State of Israel and declared a terrorist organization," the judge wrote. "Some of the suspect's words in that interview given on 22/2/25 can also be understood as identification with a terrorist organization and, unfortunately, as incitement to terrorism."

"I believe that insofar as this is not an ordinary person, but rather a public figure, including in football teams, and in various media outlets, where his accessibility to the general public is immediate and widespread, then the potential of his words that can be interpreted as incitement to terrorism are a thousand times more serious. A public figure, a sports broadcaster, should be careful with his words, lest they be interpreted by ordinary people as words of incitement."

The judge noted that the risk of investigation obstruction has not disappeared, and Hassanin's dangerousness "exists in full force, this in light of the nature of the offenses and the state of emergency in which the state finds itself, which is still in a violent conflict with those who come to harm it."

Therefore, the judge approved the extension of Hassanin's detention until Sunday.