Press groups condemn Israel closing Al Jazeera office in Ramallah

Committee to Protect Journalists says it is ‘deeply alarmed’ by the raid and calls for protection of press freedom.

Press freedom groups and rights activists have condemned the Israeli military forcibly shutting down Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, calling the act an assault on journalism.

Early on Sunday morning, Israeli soldiers raided the bureau of the Qatar-based network and ordered its closure for 45 days.

The raid, captured on live TV, showed heavily armed Israeli troops handing an Israeli military court order to Al Jazeera’s bureau chief Walid al-Omari, informing him of the closure.

Al-Omari later said the court order accused Al Jazeera of “incitement to and support of terrorism” and that the Israeli soldiers confiscated the bureau’s cameras before leaving.

“Targeting journalists this way aims to erase the truth and prevent people from hearing the truth,” he said.