Press freedom groups and rights activists have condemned the Israeli military forcibly shutting down Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, calling the act an assault on journalism.

Early on Sunday morning, Israeli soldiers raided the bureau of the Qatar-based network and ordered its closure for 45 days.

The raid, captured on live TV, showed heavily armed Israeli troops handing an Israeli military court order to Al Jazeera’s bureau chief Walid al-Omari, informing him of the closure.

Al-Omari later said the court order accused Al Jazeera of “incitement to and support of terrorism” and that the Israeli soldiers confiscated the bureau’s cameras before leaving.

“Targeting journalists this way aims to erase the truth and prevent people from hearing the truth,” he said.

During the raid, Israeli soldiers also tore down posters of slain Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, which were displayed on the walls of the bureau, al-Omari said.

The Ramallah office raid came five months after Israel shut the news channel’s operations in occupied East Jerusalem and took it off cable providers.

‘Relentless assault’

In a statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “deeply alarmed” by the Israeli raid, just months after Israel shuttered Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel after deeming it a threat to national security.

“Israel’s efforts to censor Al Jazeera severely undermine the public’s right to information on a war that has upended so many lives in the region,” it said.

“Al Jazeera’s journalists must be allowed to report at this critical time, and always.”

In a brief statement on X, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it “denounces Israel’s relentless assault” on Al Jazeera. RSF had previously called for the repeal of an Israeli law that allows the government to shut down foreign media in Israel, “targeting Al Jazeera channel”.

No witnesses allowed. https://t.co/jrZSRT8ONq

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) September 22, 2024

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate denounced Israel’s “arbitrary military decision”, calling it “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,” the group said.

The Palestinian Authority said the Israeli operation against Al Jazeera in Ramallah was “a flagrant violation” of press freedom.

‘Affront to press freedom’

Al Jazeera has been providing extensive coverage of Israel’s nearly-year-long military offensive in Gaza and of a parallel surge in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Four Al Jazeera journalists have been killed since the war in Gaza began, and the network’s office in the besieged territory was bombed. A total of 173 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October last year. Israel claims it does not target journalists.

The Al Jazeera network, which is funded by the Qatari government, has also rejected accusations that it harmed Israel’s security as a “dangerous and ridiculous lie” that puts its journalists at risk.

Israeli Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi justified Sunday’s closure of Al Jazeera’s bureau, calling the network “the mouthpiece” of Gaza’s Hamas and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah.

“We will continue to fight the enemy channels and ensure the safety of our heroic fighters,” he said.

In a statement, however, the Al Jazeera Media Network said it “vehemently condemns and denounces this criminal act by the Israeli occupation forces”.

“Al Jazeera rejects the draconian actions, and the unfounded allegations presented by Israeli authorities to justify these illegal raids,” it said.

“The raid on the office and seizure of our equipment is not only an attack on Al Jazeera but an affront to press freedom and the very principles of journalism.”

‘A bigger West Bank onslaught’

Rami Khouri, a Middle East expert at the American University in Beirut, said the closure of Al Jazeera’s Ramallah office is in line with the policy of Israel since 1948, “which is to prevent real news about the Palestinians”.

“It probably means that there’s going to be a bigger onslaught… of Israeli violence all over the West Bank. And the primary instrument for informing the world about what Israel is doing is not going to be available to do it,” he said.

Mouin Rabbani, a non-resident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, said the decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah shows that Israel “clearly has something very serious to hide”.

“In this particular case, if you don’t like the exposure of genocide in the context of an illegal occupation, you shoot the messenger.”