Israeli Forces Raid Al Jazeera Bureau in Ramallah, Shutting Down Operations
Israeli troops seize documents and equipment, ordering Al Jazeera’s shutdown in a move to silence the network's coverage of the Gaza war.
Israeli soldiers raided Al Jazeera's office in the occupied West Bank, ordering its closure as part of a broader crackdown on the Doha-based broadcaster. On Sunday, Al Jazeera aired live footage of Israeli troops storming its Ramallah bureau, enforcing a 45-day shutdown. This follows a similar raid in May, when Israeli police seized equipment and blocked broadcasts from the network’s East Jerusalem office.
In the footage, Israeli troops were seen removing a banner displaying an image of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American journalist killed by Israeli forces in May 2022. The soldiers informed Al Jazeera's bureau chief, Walid al-Omari, of the closure order and began confiscating documents and equipment.
Al-Omari later stated that Israeli authorities referenced British Mandate-era laws to justify the closure. Tear gas and gunfire were also reported in the surrounding area during the raid. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the raid, while the Committee to Protect Journalists called it "deeply concerning," stressing that journalists must be allowed to work freely.
Al Jazeera has been covering Israel's war on Gaza, which has claimed 41,000 lives, with 24-hour reporting from the war zone. Israeli forces have killed 173 journalists since the conflict began, including Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul and Samer Abudaqa. International journalists remain barred from independently reporting from Gaza.
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