Journalist Abed Abu Shahadeh, who was arrested on suspicion of contacts with a foreign agent after he interviewed ex-MK Azmi Bishara, was released on Monday without any restrictive conditions.
Abu Shahadeh was held for five days, at the end of which the police and Shin Bet decided not to request an extension of his detention.
Abu Shahadeh was arrested last Wednesday. Behind his arrest was an interview he conducted in Qatar for Al Jazeera with Azmi Bishara, a founder of the Israeli-Arab Balad party, ahead of the elections.
Bishara, who fled Israel in 2007, was suspected of aiding Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War.
A day before Abu Shehadeh's release, Jewish US Representative-elects Brad Lander (D-NY), Scott Weiner (D-CA), and Daniel Biss (D-IL) reached out to Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter demanding his release.
The three called for a fair and transparent legal process and opposed the arrest of journalists for interviews as part of their employment.
Immediately after his release from custody, Abu Shahadeh said: "I have just been released after several days of wrongful detention. This was a politically motivated investigation with no basis whatsoever. A Shin Bet witch hunt in the service of the Prime Minister, who is trying to intimidate and silence us and delegitimize the very act of voting by Arab citizens."
He added: "They will not succeed. Arab society has chosen to pursue its struggle through democratic means, and no persecution will succeed in silencing us. Thank you to everyone, Arabs and Jews alike, who expressed support and opposition to this persecution."
Abu Shahadeh's attorney, Yigal Dotan, welcomed the decision to release him and criticized the arrest itself.
"We believed from the outset that the arrest was unnecessary, unjustified, and carried out unlawfully," Dotan said. "We are pleased with his release, but we recognize that the investigation is still ongoing, so we cannot say anything more at this stage."