Israeli soldiers in full combat gear stormed into the offices of Al Jazeera in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank early Sunday morning. They ordered the station to be shut down for 45 days, claiming that it was broadcasting “untrue content”, according to the channel.
A video published by the Qatar-owned channel shows armed IDF soldiers walking through the corridors and into the office while being filmed by an Al Jazeera crew.
– There is a court order to close Al Jazeera for 45 days, a soldier told al-Omari, according to Al-Jazeera.
– I ask you to take all cameras and leave the office immediately, he added.
قوة من جيش الاحتلال الإسرائيلي تقتحم مكتب قناة #الجزيرة برام الله وتغلقه بموجب أمر عسكري#حرب_غزة #الأخبار pic.twitter.com/EyAx3GTrt2
— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) September 22, 2024
The Israeli government banned Al Jazeera from operating within Israel in May, accusing it of “aiding” the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
A Tel Aviv court ruled in June that Al Jazeera’s reporters in Gaza were acting as “de facto assistants and partners” of Hamas.
The network denied the accusations. “Israel’s continued suppression of the free press, which is seen as an attempt to cover up its actions in the Gaza Strip, is contrary to international and humanitarian law”, Al Jazeera said at the time.
