Faith Nyasuguta
Israeli soldiers raided Al Jazeera’s office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday, ordering its closure for 45 days amid escalating tensions surrounding the network’s coverage of the Gaza war. Al Jazeera, funded by Qatar, has faced increasing pressure from Israel over its reporting, and this marks the latest move in a broader campaign against the news outlet.
During the raid, which was broadcast live on Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language channel, Israeli troops ordered the office to shut down immediately. This comes after a previous raid in May when Israeli police stormed the network’s broadcast location in East Jerusalem, seizing equipment and blocking its broadcasts in Israel, as well as restricting access to its websites.
This is the first time Israel has closed a foreign news outlet operating in the country. Despite this, Al Jazeera has continued its operations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, areas Palestinians hope will be part of their future state. Following the raid, the network continued broadcasting live from its office in Amman, Jordan, condemning the Israeli action.
Live footage from the scene showed armed Israeli soldiers ordering staff to leave the building. At one point, the troops were seen tearing down a banner on the office’s balcony, which bore the image of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist killed by Israeli forces in May 2022.
An Israeli soldier, addressing Al Jazeera’s local bureau chief Walid al-Omari, cited a court ruling that called for the office’s closure for 45 days. “I ask you to take all the cameras and leave the office at this moment,” the soldier said live on air.
According to al-Omari, the troops began confiscating documents and equipment as the raid unfolded. Gunfire and tear gas could be heard in the background, further adding to the tension. Al-Omari later told the Associated Press that the Israeli military justified the closure by citing laws dating back to the British Mandate of Palestine.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the raid, calling it an attack on journalistic freedom. “This arbitrary military decision is a new aggression against journalistic work and media outlets,” the organization stated.
The Israeli government has not commented on the raid, and its decision to close the bureau has raised questions due to the fact that Ramallah, where the raid occurred, is under full Palestinian political and security control. Despite Israel’s control over much of the West Bank, Ramallah is considered a Palestinian-administered area, making the raid on the Al Jazeera office all the more surprising.
Al Jazeera continues to report from other locations, despite the ongoing restrictions and challenges it faces from Israeli authorities.
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