Israeli forces have raided the offices of Al Jazeera radio in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, and ordered them closed for an initial period of 45 days.
Armed and masked Israeli soldiers stormed the building early Sunday morning during a live broadcast.
Viewers watched as the military handed the closure order to Walid al-Omari, the channel’s West Bank bureau chief, who read it live on television.
Israel raided Al Jazeera’s office in Nazareth and occupied East Jerusalem in May after describing the Qatar-based broadcaster as a threat to national security.
“Targeting journalists in this way is always aimed at erasing the truth and preventing people from hearing the truth,” Omari said in comments reported by his company.
Al Jazeera journalist Mohammad Alsaafin said soldiers confiscated the last microphone and camera from the street outside and forced Omari out of the office.
Posting about the raid on social media, Alsaafin said the army also pulled down a poster of Shireen Abu Aqla – an Al Jazeera reporter who was killed while reporting on a raid by Israeli forces in the West Bank.
The network and witnesses at the time said the Palestinian-American reporter was shot by Israeli forces. Israel initially argued that she was shot by a Palestinian, but months later concluded that there was a “high probability” that one of their soldiers killed her.
Relations between the Qatari-owned broadcaster and the Israeli government have long been strained and have worsened significantly since the outbreak of war in Gaza.
With foreign journalists banned from entering the area, Al Jazeera’s staff based in the area are among the few reporters able to cover the fighting on the ground.
Israel has repeatedly called the network a terrorist mouthpiece, an accusation Al Jazeera has denied.
In AprilThe Israeli parliament has passed a law giving the government the power to temporarily shut down foreign television stations deemed a threat to national security during wartime.
The ban will be in effect for 45 days, as seen in Sunday’s raid, and can be extended.
In early May, Al Jazeera’s offices in Nazareth And Occupied East Jerusalem was attacked separately.
Israel has yet to comment on Sunday’s operation.
