The Qatari chain Al Jazeera reported that its offices in Ramallah, in an occupied West Bank, were searched by Israeli forces, which ordered a closure of 45 days.
The operation, carried out this Sunday, was broadcast live. An Israeli soldier informed Walid Al-Mari, head of the office, that a court decision had been rendered for this purpose and asked the team to leave the premises immediately.
The soldiers, who were masked and heavily armed, did not specify the reasons for this closure, but Al-Mari said that the chain was accused of “incentive and support for terrorism”. The Israeli army has not yet reacted to these allegations.
This intervention follows a series of actions from the Israeli government against Al Jazeera, whose revocation of the press cards of several of its journalists, announced on September 12. These measures were taken after the ban on the dissemination of the chain in Israel, in May, following the adoption of a law by the Israeli Parliament targeting foreign media deemed harmful to national security.
Until now, the chain operations in the West Bank and Gaza had not been affected. However, accusations were brought by the Israeli occupation army, qualifying the Qataris journalists present in the region of “terrorist agents” linked to Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Al Jazeera rejected these accusations, claiming that Israel deliberately targets its reporters.
The closure of its offices in Ramallah was described as “unsurprising” by the correspondent of Al Jazeera, Nida Ibrahim, who noted that Israeli officials had already mentioned this possibility. The Hamas press service in Gaza denounced this operation, considering it as a serious violation of press freedom.
The closure could be renewable, as was the case for other measures previously taken against Al Jazeera. The Tel Aviv court has extended the chain ban in Israel for the fourth time on September 11, suggesting that the fate of the Ramallah office could be similar in the coming weeks.
