“#Israeli #Soldiers #Raid and Order Closure of Al Jazeera Office in #Ramallah Amid Media #Crackdown“

Tensions rise as heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers raided Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah, delivering a 45-day closure order. The raid comes as part of a growing Israeli crackdown on media freedom in the occupied West Bank. Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau chief, Walid al-Omari, reported that the Israeli military accused the network of “incitement to and support of terrorism.“ The closure follows a similar ban on Al Jazeera’s operations inside Israel earlier this year. Media rights groups are condemning this attack on press freedom, calling it a blatant violation of journalists’ rights. Al Jazeera fears that this raid could lead to the destruction of their archives stored in the office. The Government Media Office in Gaza and international journalists are calling for an end to the ongoing restrictions against the free press. This action comes just two days after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to end the Israeli occupation. #PressFreedom #AlJa