Israeli military shuts down Al Jazeera bureau in West Bank raid

Israeli forces raided the office of Al Jazeera in the occupied West Bank on Sunday and issued a 45-day closure order, the Qatari broadcaster said, with footage showing heavily armed and masked troops entering the premises in Ramallah.

“There is a court ruling for closing down Al Jazeera for 45 days,” an Israeli soldier told Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau chief, Walid al-Omari, the network reported, citing the conversation which was broadcast live. “I ask you to take all the cameras and leave the office at this moment,” the soldier said.

Al-Omari reported that Israeli troops brought a truck to confiscate documents, devices and office property.

The broadcaster said the soldiers did not provide a reason for the closure order.

Al Jazeera denounced the raid as “a criminal act” and said in a statement it held the Israeli government responsible for the safety of its journalists.

The network added that it would take legal action to protect its rights and promised to continue its coverage. “Al Jazeera rejects the draconian actions, and the unfounded allegations presented by Israeli authorities to justify these illegal raids,” it said.

The Israeli communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, confirmed the closure in a statement that called Al Jazeera “the mouthpiece” of Gaza’s Hamas and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah. “We will continue to fight in the enemy channels and ensure the safety of our heroic fighters,” he said.

The move is the latest Israeli action against Al Jazeera. Last week, Israel’s government announced it was revoking the press credentials of Al Jazeera journalists in the country, four months after banning the channel from operating inside Israel.

In a statement, the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate condemned the Israeli move, saying “this arbitrary military decision is considered a new violation against journalistic and media works, which has been exposing the occupation’s crimes against the Palestinian people.

“We affirm our full solidarity with Al Jazeera and place our headquarters and capabilities at the service of our colleagues working there”.

In Hamas-run Gaza, the government media office condemned the move in a statement released on Telegram, Al Jazeera reported, calling it a clear violation of international law.

“We call on all media outlets and journalists around the world to declare full solidarity with Al Jazeera,” it added.

The Israeli military has repeatedly accused journalists from the Qatari network of being “terrorist agents” in Gaza affiliated with Hamas or its ally, Islamic Jihad.

Al Jazeera denies the Israeli government’s accusations and claims that Israel systematically targets its employees in the Gaza Strip.

With Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters