IDF raids Al Jazeera office

Source: BBC and RT

The Israeli military has raided the offices of news broadcaster Al Jazeera in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, confiscated its equipment and ordered it to close for an initial period of 45 days.

Armed Israeli soldiers entered the building early on Sunday during a live broadcast.

Israel's military said a legal opinion and intelligence assessment determined that the offices were being used "to incite terror" and "support terrorist activities", and that the channel's broadcasts endanger Israel's security.

Al Jazeera "vehemently" condemned the closure and "unfounded allegations presented by Israeli authorities to justify these illegal raids", and called the move an "affront" to press freedom. The Foreign Press Association said it was "deeply troubled" by the development, which it also said threatened press freedom.

"Restricting foreign reporters and closing news channels signals a shift away from democratic values," the organisation said.

Israeli soldiers in full combat gear entered Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah in the West Bank in the early hours of Sunday. They ordered the studio to close for 45 days, the channel said.

A clip posted by the Qatari-owned channel shows armed IDF troops walking down the hallways and entering offices while being filmed by an Al Jazeera camera crew.

“There is a court ruling for closing down Al Jazeera for 45 days,” a soldier told al-Omari, according to Al Jazeera,  “I ask you to take all the cameras and leave the office at this moment,” he added.

The Israeli government banned Al Jazeera from operating inside Israel in May, accusing it of helping the Palestinian militant group Hamas. A Tel Aviv court ruled in June that Al Jazeera’s reporters in Gaza acted as “de facto assistants and partners” of Hamas.

The network denied the allegations. “Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law,” Al Jazeera said at the time.