On Sunday morning, Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based television station, reported that the Israeli military raided its branch in the West Bank city of Ramallah and issued a military order to shut it down for 45 days. The headquarters of Al Jazeera conducted a live broadcast on its Arabic channel earlier on Sunday, showing the Israeli military entering the media office in Ramallah, along with the reactions of the station’s director Walid al-Omari and other staff members.
During the live broadcast, Israeli armed forces informed al-Omari of the military order to close the office for 45 days. Al-Omari read out the order given to him and mentioned that the Israeli military demanded all staff members to evacuate immediately, allowing only ten minutes for them to take personal belongings and cameras with them.
When al-Omari asked the Israeli soldiers why they were shutting down the office, they replied that the reasons were already stated in the written military order. Hours later, the Israeli Defense Forces admitted to the raid on Al Jazeera’s office and told The Jerusalem Post that the decision was based on legal advice and recent intelligence indicating that the office was involved in “inciting and supporting terrorist activities.”
According to Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karai, actions were taken to combat those who misuse press freedom during wartime to harm Israel’s security, affect IDF soldiers, and incite terrorism. The statement continued to say that there had been too many legal loopholes faced before taking this step.
Al Jazeera condemned Israel’s actions and the “baseless allegations” made to justify the raid. The Foreign Press Association (FPA), representing foreign media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, described Israel’s “escalation” as a threat to press freedom, expressing deep concern and urging the Israeli government to reconsider its decision.