Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Walid al-Omari, reads from military order papers that were handed to him by Israeli soldiers at the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, September 22, 2024, in this screen grab from video. , Photo Credit: Reuters
The Israeli military said on Sunday (September 22, 2024) that it closed the Al Jazeera TV office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, because it incited “terror”.
The closure order was signed after a legal opinion and intelligence assessment “determined that the offices were being used to incite terror, to support terrorist activities and that the channel's broadcasts endanger the security and public order in both the area and the State of Israel as a whole,” a military statement said.
Al Jazeera TV slams Israel's 'criminal' raid
Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera condemned a Sunday (September 22, 2024) raid by Israeli forces on its office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and the issuing of a 45-day closure order.
The Qatar-funded channel said in a statement it “vehemently condemns and denounces this criminal act”, adding 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”.
Published – September 22, 2024 06:50 pm IST