Israeli Troops Raid Al Jazeera Office
On Sunday, heavily armed Israeli soldiers stormed Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah, located in the occupied West Bank, and ordered its closure for 45 days. The raid was broadcast live on Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language channel, showing Israeli troops delivering a military court order to the bureau chief, Walid al-Omari, accusing the network of “incitement to and support of terrorism.” The soldiers also seized the bureau’s cameras and removed a banner honoring slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
The operation followed a similar closure of Al Jazeera’s operations in occupied East Jerusalem in May, which was also set for 45 days. This move has been widely condemned by press freedom organizations and human rights advocates, who label it an attack on journalism and a blatant violation of press freedom.
Al Jazeera has maintained that it is merely reporting on the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and that its coverage is not biased against Israel. The network has continued to broadcast live from Amman, Jordan, despite the closure order.
The raid and subsequent closure have been criticized by international media advocacy groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Foreign Press Association, which have expressed deep concern over the Israeli government’s actions and urged reconsideration of the decision.
