Early on Sunday morning, Israeli soldiers shut down the Al-Jazeera network office in Ramallah, in the central occupied West Bank, under a military order. This action was taken despite the office being within the “security and civil control” of the Palestinian Authority.
Al-Jazeera reported that the Israeli army stormed the office after surrounding it and breaking its back gate.
It stated that the soldiers ordered everyone to leave and closed it down for 45 days under a military order.
The network also said that “Israeli soldiers have stormed Al-Jazeera’s office in Ramallah and issued an order for the Doha-based news network to cease operations. This action is part of a broader Israeli crackdown on media freedom”.
The report added that heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers forcefully invaded the building housing Al Jazeera’s bureau early on Sunday. They handed a 45-day closure order to the network’s West Bank bureau chief, Walid al-Omari.
Israeli forces carrying guns have entered Al Jazeera’s offices in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, ordering staff to vacate and imposing a 45-day closure. pic.twitter.com/zqJYStVkDG
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 22, 2024
Al-Jazeera correspondent Guevara Al-Budeiri mentioned that soldiers fired tear gas near the Al-Jazeera bureau and al-Manara Square in central Ramallah. She expressed concern that the military might attempt to destroy Al Jazeera’s archives in the office.
Al-Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim noted that the West Bank raid and the closure order were “no surprise” given the earlier ban on reporting from inside Israel.
During the invasion, the soldiers removed the memorial poster of slain journalist, Shirin Abu Akleh.
Tony Abu Akleh, Shirin’s brother said in a social media post: “During the recent Israeli military raid on the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, in a barbaric act, they removed the #shireenabuakleh memorial poster, further attempting to erase her legacy. These actions are not just an affront to Shireen’s memory but a threat to the freedom of expression.”
He added that “since Shirin was killed by an Israeli soldier in 2022, her funeral was attacked, and her memorial in Jenin has been bulldozed multiple times. The violence against journalists continues, with Al Jazeera reporters targeted and their Jerusalem office closed months ago, and now the Ramallah bureau as well. These actions are an assault on press freedom. We will continue to demand justice and accountability. Shireen’s legacy will endure, and the truth will not be forgotten.”Previously, Al Jazeera’s office director, Walid al-Omari, mentioned that Israeli forces were besieging the building housing the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah and attempting to storm it after many Israeli military vehicles invaded Ramallah from its northern entrance.
Mo’tasem Saqf Al-Hait, a reporter with “Quds News Network” in Ramallah, said that the soldiers invaded Al-Manara Square in central Ramallah before storming the Al-Jazeera office and shutting it down.
The closure of the Al-Jazeera office and the ban on its operations came after the Israeli “Communications Regulatory Authority” announced on Sunday the extension of the ban on the operations of the Qatari Al Jazeera channel in the occupied territories for another 45 days after the Israeli Ministerial Cabinet agreed that the channel’s broadcast “posed a security threat”.
RAMALLAH: Palestine Bureau Chief Walid Omary was live on air when the Israeli army raided the office.
Back in May, Israel banned Al Jazeera from reporting within the country. Israeli forces raided our office in Occupied East Jerusalem, and confiscated our equipment. pic.twitter.com/eVWYiCce84
— Hamdah Salhut (@hamdahsalhut) September 22, 2024
Last week, a court in Tel Aviv upheld a preliminary 35-day ban on Al Jazeera’s operations, imposed by the government for what it called “national security considerations,” which ended on Saturday.
Following an appeal by Al-Jazeera, the Israeli Supreme Court responded, describing the action against Al-Jazeera as “unprecedented”.
The court gave the Israeli government until August 8 to present arguments regarding “why the law preventing foreign broadcasting entities from harming national security” should be deemed valid in this case.
Court documents showed that Al-Jazeera’s defense team informed the court that the news agency “does not incite violence or terrorism,” and that the ban is disproportionate.
In mid-June, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the banning of Al Jazeera’s broadcast in the West Bank, following the decision to block it in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli Army Radio said, “After blocking Al-Jazeera’s broadcast in Israel, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instructed the Chief of Staff to also ban the channel’s broadcast in the West Bank”.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli government decided on May 5 to block Al-Jazeera and prevent its broadcast in the occupied territories, and to close its offices.
The decision followed the Knesset’s approval in April of a law that allows the Prime Minister and the Minister of Communications to ban foreign media outlets, citing concerns that they “harm Israel’s security.”
This legislation, referred to by the media as the “Al Jazeera Law,” was primarily aimed at preventing the broadcast of the Qatari channel, though it applies to all foreign media outlets.
Officials and spokespersons within the Israeli government have repeatedly launched sharp attacks on Al-Jazeera, criticizing its extensive coverage of the ongoing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
Al-Jazeera condemned the Israeli occupation government’s decision to close its offices, describing it as a move “steeped in misinformation and slander.”
The network affirmed its right to continue providing services to the global audience, as guaranteed by international charters.
In its report, Al-Jazeera said: “Media rights groups have slammed the Israeli government for its restrictions and attacks on journalists, particularly Palestinian reporters on the ground in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing war on the besieged enclave.”
“Since the start of the war in October last year, Israeli forces have killed 173 journalists, according to a tally from the Government Media Office. International journalists have not been allowed to report independently from Gaza. Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul and Samer Abudaqa are among the journalists killed. Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Abu Omar was also severely injured in an Israeli strike in February.”
