Israeli authorities on Sunday released without charge an Arab-Israeli journalist whom they had detained for five days over an interview he conducted in Qatar, a rights group said.

More than a dozen police officers arrested Abed Abu Shehadeh late on Tuesday at his home in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, amid high tensions in Israel over the Arab minority, who are the descendants of Palestinians who stayed after the creation of Israel in 1948.

Following the tight October 27 election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone on the offensive against the prospect of lawmakers from the Arab minority bringing the opposition to power and has alleged they receive outside support.

Brought before a judge on Wednesday, Abu Shehadeh was accused of having "contacted a foreign agent", according to an AFP journalist present in court.

His interrogation by police and the Shin Bet internal security service "focused on a published, publicly available interview", said Adalah, a legal group that supports Arab Israelis.

Abu Shehadeh had conducted an interview shortly before the election for his website Arab 48 with Azmi Bishara, a former lawmaker and founder of the Arab, hard-left Balad party.

He fled Israel in 2007 after accusations of ties to Lebanese militants Hezbollah. He denied the accusations and said he would not receive a fair trial in Israel.

He lives in exile in Qatar from which he is a frequent commentator.

Adalah welcomed Abu Shehadeh's freedom but said that his release "does not make his arrest any less unlawful".

"The police raided his home at night. He was interrogated about his journalism," the group said in a statement.

"The message to Palestinian citizens is unmistakable: a public conversation with a political figure can land you in a cell. This is political persecution carried out through criminal law."

Israel frequently bills itself as the only democracy in the Middle East and points to how its Arab citizens have the right to political participation.

@AFP