Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera office in West Bank, issue 45-day closure

Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera on Sunday (September 22) claimed that Israeli forces raided its office in Ramallah and issued a closure order lasting 45 days.

Al Jazeera reported that masked and heavily armed Israeli soldiers entered the building, located in the occupied West Bank, early in the morning. The soldiers delivered the order to Walid al-Omari, the network's bureau chief for the West Bank. No explanation for the closure was given.

'Take all cameras and leave'

According to Al Jazeera, an Israeli soldier told al-Omari, "There is a court order to close Al Jazeera for 45 days." The soldier then instructed in Arabic to, "Take all the cameras and leave the office immediately."

Speaking over the phone from Ramallah, Nida Ibrahim, Al Jazeera's Palestine correspondent told the Doha-based media outlet that the raid in the West Bank and the closure order were "unsurprising" following the previous ban on reporting from within Israel.

Earlier warnings

"Israeli officials had already made threats to shut down the bureau, and there were discussions in the government about asking the military ruler in the occupied West Bank to do so. However, we didn’t anticipate it happening today," Ibrahim said.

This raid follows Israel's ban on Al Jazeera's operations within the country in May, citing national security concerns. Israeli forces also raided a Jerusalem hotel that Al Jazeera used as its office during that period.

Following the incident, bureau chief al-Omari expressed concern over the potential actions of Israeli soldiers in the office, stating, "Targeting journalists in this way is always meant to suppress the truth and prevent people from hearing it."

'Deafening scandal'

The Government Media Office in Gaza described the Israeli action as a "deafening scandal" and urged global media organisations and human rights groups to denounce what they called a "heinous crime" and a clear violation of press and media freedom.

Al Jazeera condemned the ban, calling it a "criminal act" that undermines human rights and the public's right to information. The network accused Israel of suppressing free press to hide its activities in Gaza, in violation of international and humanitarian law.

Israel has accused the media outlet of being a mouthpiece of Hamas, the militant organisation with which it has been engaged in a war in Gaza Strip.