Israeli Forces Raid Al Jazeera's Ramallah Office, Order 45-Day Closure, Deploy Tear Gas

Sep 22, 2024, 04:54 AM

Israeli forces raided the Al Jazeera office in Ramallah, located in the occupied West Bank, early Sunday morning. The heavily armed soldiers entered the building during a live broadcast and issued a military order to close the office for 45 days. Staff were given a short timeframe to evacuate, and equipment was confiscated. Tear gas was deployed during the raid. The raid occurred around 3:20 a.m. local time, and no reason for the closure was provided. The closure order was handed to Al Jazeera's West Bank bureau chief, Walid al-Omari. Soldiers also tore up a picture of Shireen Abu Akleh, a journalist killed in 2022. This action follows a previous ban on Al Jazeera's operations inside Israel.