Israeli forces raided the offices of Al Jazeera in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Sunday, ordering the Qatar-based network’s bureau in Ramallah to shut down for 45 days, according to a report from AP.
The move comes as the network provides continuous coverage of the ongoing Israeli war on Palestine.
Footage broadcast by Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language channel showed Israeli soldiers entering the office and ordering staff to leave immediately.
The soldiers told the bureau chief, Walid al-Omari, that the shutdown was based on a court order. Troops reportedly confiscated equipment and documents before dismantling a banner featuring Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American journalist killed by Israeli forces in May 2022.
The raid marks the first time Israel has fully shuttered a foreign news organization operating within its territories, though Al Jazeera has remained active in both the West Bank and Gaza.
In May, Israeli police similarly raided Al Jazeera’s position in East Jerusalem, seizing broadcast equipment and blocking its websites from being accessed in Israel.
Israel has consistently accused Al Jazeera of bias in its coverage, particularly for airing video statements from Hamas and other militant groups. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials have stated that the network’s coverage threatens Israeli security and incites violence against Israeli forces.
On social media, Israel’s Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi described the channel as “the mouthpiece of Hamas and Hezbollah,” referring to the Shiite militia group in Lebanon that Israel targeted with airstrikes over the weekend.
“We will continue to fight enemy channels and ensure the safety of our heroic fighters,” Karhi said in a post on X. He did not address what legal authority was used to justify the closure of the Ramallah bureau.
Al Jazeera has repeatedly rejected Israel’s claims, defending its coverage as impartial. The network’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar, denounced the raid while continuing its broadcasts live from Amman, Jordan.