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SvennoJ on 22 September 2024
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Israeli soldiers raid and order closure of Al Jazeera’s Ramallah offices

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/22/middleeast/al-jazeera-ramallah-israel-raid-intl/index.html

Israel’s military has raided and ordered the closure of Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, the network said.

Al Jazeera broadcast live footage early on Sunday of Israeli soldiers entering its offices in Ramallah, capturing the reactions of bureau chief Walid Omary and staff members live on air. Video broadcast by Al Jazeera showed one soldier informing Omary of a military order to close Al Jazeera’s office for 45 days.

Reading the military order given to him on air, Omary said staff members had only ten minutes to take their personal belongings and cameras and vacate the office. When Omary asked the Israeli soliders why the office was being closed, he was told the reason had been provided in the written military order.

Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah has been operational for decades. It became even more essential for the network after Israel shut down its Jerusalem office and seized some of its communication equipment in May, prompting condemnation from the United Nations and rights groups over what they said were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s moves to restrict press freedoms.

After Al Jazeera staff left the Ramallah office, live footage showed Omary and others in the street outside, as the journalist said soldiers had taken over the office and were confiscating materials.

Shortly after, as Israeli soldiers approached Omary, the live video feed was cut, and Omary could be heard saying that soldiers had taken the camera and broadcast equipment the team had been using.

CNN has contacted Al Jazeera and the Israeli military for comment.

The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents foreign press in Israel and the Palestinian territories, said it was “deeply troubled” by what it described as an “escalation which threatens press freedom.” The FPA called on the Israeli government to reconsider the decision.

The Israeli government has long complained about Al Jazeera’s operations, alleging anti-Israeli bias and accusing the network of being a “mouthpiece for Hamas.”

The Qatari-based news network, which has produced on the ground reporting of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, denies this. Several of its journalists have been killed or injured since the Gaza offensive began after the October 7 attacks.




Israeli soldiers tear down slain journalist’s posters at Al Jazeera’s office

Al-Omari, Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau chief, is reporting that Israeli soldiers are tearing down posters of slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, which are up on the walls of the network’s bureau in Ramallah.

Videos taken from outside the bureau captured the scenes.


Translation: Occupation forces tear up a picture of killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during a raid on Al Jazeera’s office in the centre of Ramallah.

Abu Akleh was a mainstay in homes across the Palestinian territory, the wider region and for Arabs and Muslims globally. She was killed when an Israeli soldier shot her on May 11, 2022, while she was reporting from Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.


Photographs of Shireen Abu Akleh on Al Jazeera’s office building in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah

Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemns attack on Al Jazeera bureau

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate issued a statement, which includes the following:

  • “We condemn the storming of the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah by occupation forces and its closure for 45 days.”
  • “This arbitrary military decision is a new aggression against journalistic work and media outlets.”
  • “We call on the entities and institutions concerned with journalists’ rights to condemn this decision and stop its implementation.”
  • “We affirm our full solidarity with Al Jazeera and place our headquarters and capabilities at the service of our colleagues working there.”

Israeli troops prevent Al Jazeera staff from reporting on raid

Al Jazeera’s Jivara Budeiri, who is outside on the street near the Ramallah bureau, said Israeli soldiers have confiscated their cameras and are preventing staff from reporting on the ongoing raid.

“If we try to move… or even seem to be thinking of moving… they point their weapons at us,” she said.

Budeiri said the team could not confirm what is happening inside the bureau, but that the Israeli soldiers are accompanied by engineers. She said she feared the military may try to destroy Al Jazeera’s archives, which are stored in the office.


Israeli army vehicles outside the Al Jazeera office, located on the seventh floor, in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank