Qatari Al Jazeera TV said on Sunday morning that Israeli forces stormed its bureau in Ramallah with a military order to close for 45 days on claims of incitement and support of terrorism.
The Qatar-based channel aired live footage of Israeli troops storming the channel’s office and handing over a military closure order to Ramallah bureau chief Walid al-Omari, forcing the bureau to temporarily close, before the broadcast was disrupted.“In line with a directive from the political leadership, IDF and Border Police forces, along with the Civil Administration, enforced an order today (Saturday) from the Central Command’s commander to close the Al Jazeera offices in the West Bank,” the IDF told The Jerusalem Post.
“The order was based on legal advice and updated intelligence, which indicated that the office was being used for ‘incitement and support of terrorist activities.’ The broadcasts were deemed a threat to regional and Israeli security, as well as public order. The station’s offices were sealed, and its equipment confiscated.”Al-Omari said the order accused Al Jazeera of “incitement to and support of terrorism” and that the soldiers confiscated the bureau’s cameras before leaving.
“We acted immediately against those who use the freedom of the press to impair Israel’s security and affect IDF soldiers and incite terrorism during wartime,” Communications Minister Shlomo Karai said in a statement. “There will be no freedom of speech for Hamas mouthpieces in Israel. Too much time has passed, and we have faced too many legal bumps to get to this moment, but it is good that it has come. ‘God will fight you and you will be silent’ – silence the enemy’s megaphones of incitement.”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.”“Al Jazeera rejects the draconian actions, and the unfounded allegations presented by Israeli authorities to justify these illegal raids,” Al Jazeera said.This is not the first time Israel has shut down an Al Jazeera office. In May, Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office after the government decided to shut down the AL Jazeera TV station’s local operations, saying it threatened national security.
لحظة اقتحام قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي مكتب قناة #الجزيرة برام الله مع أمر عسكري بغلقه 45 يوما#حرب_غزة #الأخبار pic.twitter.com/EKdkgCRSCT
— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) September 22, 2024