The Israeli troops raided the offices if the satellite news network Al Jazeera in the West Bank early on Sunday (September 22), and ordered the bureau to shut down. The troops entered the office and told a reporter live on air that the office would be shut for 45 days. This comes amid a widening campaign by Israel targeting the Qatar-funded broadcaster as it covers the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
The move comes after Israel shut down Al Jazeera's offices in Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Al Jazeera TV said that that Israeli forces stormed its bureau in the West Bank carrying a military order to shut it down for 45 days. The Qatar-based channel aired live footage of the raid and the handing over of closure order to one of the TV staff before the broadcast was disrupted. It follows an extraordinary order issued in July that saw Israeli police raid Al Jazeera’s broadcast position in East Jerusalem, seizing equipment there, preventing its broadcasts in Israel and blocking its websites.
The move marked the first time Israel has ever shuttered a foreign news outlet operating in the country. However, Al Jazeera has continued operating in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.
There was no immediate acknowledgment of the shutdown by Israeli forces. Al Jazeera denounced the move as it continued broadcasting live from Amman in neighboring Jordan.
(With AP inputs)
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