Israeli soldiers raid, order closure of Al Jazeera office in Ramallah
Al Jazeera
Heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers raid Al Jazeera bureau in occupied West Bank and deliver 45-day closure order.
Israeli forces have raided Al Jazeera’s offices in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and imposed a 45-day closure, in the latest push to curtail the news network’s coverage.
Heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers entered the building and handed the closure order to the network’s West Bank bureau chief Walid al-Omari early on Sunday. They did not provide a reason for the decision.
“There is a court ruling for closing down Al Jazeera for 45 days,” a soldier told al-Omari as Al Jazeera Arabic broadcast the conversation live on television.
“I ask you to take all the cameras and leave the office at this moment,” the soldier said in Arabic.
Sunday’s raid comes just months after the Israeli government banned Al Jazeera from operating inside Israel in May.