The IDF raided the offices of the Qatari Al Jazeera channel in Ramallah last night (Sunday) under the direction of the political echelon.
Most of the incident was recorded by Al Jazeera cameras until they were confiscated by the IDF.
According to Al Jazeera, "Heavily armed and masked soldiers forcefully entered the building holding Al JAzeera's bureau."
Walid Al-Omari, manager of Al Jazeera's offices in Ramallah, reported from outside the channel's offices: "IDF forces raided the offices after blowing up the entrance door. The soldiers confiscated the contents of the offices."
Al-Omari said the Israeli military’s closure order accused the network of “incitement to and support of terrorism”.
Al Jazeera’s Jivara Budeiri further reported, "Israeli forces used tear gas in the vicinity of the Al Jazeera bureau and al-Manara Square in the heart of the occupied West Bank city." She added that Israeli soldiers confiscated their cameras and said she feared the military might try to destroy Al Jazeera’s archives, which are stored in the office.
Israeli military vehicles left Ramallah after the raid.
Speaking from Ramallah, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said the West Bank raid and the closure order come “as no surprise” after the earlier ban on reporting from inside Israel, but that they hadn't expected it to come so soon.
About two months ago, the Tel Aviv District Court approved the state's request to stop Al Jazeera's broadcasts in Israel, claiming it posed "a substantial threat to state security."
The government passed the decision in May, agreeing that the channel would be closed for 45 days. Ministers from the Mamlachti camp did not participate in the vote.
Al Jazeera added the following: "Mostafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said Israel has no right, legally speaking, to close any office in Ramallah, which falls in Area A under the security and civil administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA) ... Al Jazeera’s operating license was issued by the PA, “This is the real face of Israel, a country that claims to be a democracy and claims to be supporting freedom of press.”
Izzat al-Risheq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, described the closure order as “a retaliatory measure against its professional role in exposing the occupation’s crimes against our people.”
This event is part of a larger context of tensions between Israel and various media outlets, particularly those perceived as hostile to Israeli interests. The full implications of this action may not be immediately clear and could depend on the response from the international community, media organizations, and human rights groups.