IDF orders closure of Al Jazeera's Ramallah bureau for 45 days

Israeli soldiers entered Al Jazeera’s Ramallah bureau in the West Bank on Sunday, presenting a military order that demands the closure of the Qatari TV channel’s local office for 45 days.

The city of Ramallah is the administrative center of the Palestinian Authority (PA) under the leadership of its chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Al Jazeera posted live footage of Israeli forces entering the bureau on 𝕏 as they delivered the military order to the channel's local bureau chief, Walid al-Omari.

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

Shortly after, Al Jazeera’s broadcast from Ramallah was disrupted.

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate blasted Israel's move against Al Jazeera, saying that "this arbitrary military decision is considered a new violation against journalistic and media works, which has been exposing the occupation’s crimes against the Palestinian people."

For years, Al Jazeera has played a leading role in disseminating anti-Israel sentiments worldwide. Since the Hamas invasion and massacre of 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, the Israeli government has increasingly accused Al Jazeera of being a threat to Israel’s national security. In May, Israel halted Al Jazeera’s broadcasts from the Jewish state.

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has been a leading proponent for closing down Al Jazeera operations in Israel

“Al Jazeera correspondents have harmed the security of Israel and incited against IDF soldiers. The time has come to eject Hamas's mouthpiece from our country,” read a joint statement from Karhi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In May, Israeli forces raided a Jerusalem hotel room from which Al Jazeera was broadcasting. While the Qatari news outlet is currently blocked from reporting from inside Israel, until recently, it continued to broadcast from Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank

Al Jazeera is controlled by the Qatari government, which has close ties with the terrorist organization Hamas. Several high-ranking Hamas officials reside in Qatar, including Khaled Meshaal and the late Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in July in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Al Jazeera has systematically presented Israel in an unfavorable light since Oct. 7, 2023, while refraining from criticizing the terrorist organization Hamas. Israeli officials have even described Al Jazeera as a propaganda mouthpiece of Hamas leadership, accusing the network of employing Hamas commanders as journalists.

In February, the Israeli military revealed that Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Wishah simultaneously served as a senior Hamas terrorist commander.

“In the morning, a journalist on Al Jazeera, and in the evening, a terrorist in Hamas,” IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Andraee stated at the time.

 In June, Al Jazeera was observed censoring Gazan civilians for criticizing Hamas for the current situation in Gaza.