Israel Defense Forces soldiers served Al Jazeera‘s office in the Samaria city of Ramallah with a 45-day closure order on Sunday morning due to the network’s support for terrorism, the Qatari broadcaster confirmed.
Al Jazeera was broadcasting from Ramallah when IDF troops entered its bureau in the Palestinian Authority-controlled city and handed the order to one of its staffers, after which the live stream was shut down.
“There is a court ruling for closing down Al Jazeera for 45 days,” a soldier reportedly told bureau chief Walid al-Omari, asking him to “take all the cameras and leave the office now.”
The Israeli closure order charged the Qatari channel with incitement to and support of terrorism, according to Sunday’s Al Jazeera reporting.
Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi posted footage of the operation on X, noting that Al Jazeera is defined as an “enemy channel.
“After much pressure … security forces this morning raided Al Jazeera‘s main offices in Judea and Samaria—the mouthpiece of Hamas and Hezbollah—following the order to close the station,” Karhi wrote.
“We will continue to fight enemy channels and ensure the safety of our heroic [IDF] fighters,” he added.
Hamas condemned the IDF raid, with Izzat al-Rishq, a senior member of its “political” bureau, saying in a statement that the Palestinian terrorist organization “stands in solidarity with Al Jazeera.”
He accused Israel of a “violation of press freedom …, retaliation against [Al Jazeera’s] professional role in exposing the crimes of the occupation” and “an attempt to cover up the actions of the resistance in Gaza, and Hezbollah’s targeting of military bases deep inside [Israel].”
In April, the Knesset voted 71-10 to pass a law giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the authority to shut down Al Jazeera‘s operations. The legislation states that the communications minister may act against a foreign channel that harms the state’s security, with the consent of the prime minister and the approval of the Cabinet.
The measure enables authorities to order television providers to stop broadcasting the outlet; close its offices in Israel; seize its equipment; shut down its website; and revoke press credentials for staff.
Earlier this month, Jerusalem announced its intention to revoke all press passes of Al Jazeera reporters working in territory under its control.
Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and has provided the terrorist group with hundreds of millions of dollars, played a role last year in mediating the release of 105 hostages from Gaza in exchange for 240 Palestinian terrorists. It previously deflected accusations of playing a double game, saying the United States requested that it open that mediation channel.
