The Committee to Protect Journalists says it is ‘deeply alarmed’ by the raid and calls for protection of freedom of the press.
Press freedom groups and rights activists have condemned the Israeli military forcibly shutting down media’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 media’s bureau chief Walid al-Omari, informing him of the closure.
Al-Omari later said the court order accused media 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.
During the raid, Israeli soldiers also tore down posters of slain Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, which were displayed on the walls of the bureau, al-Omari said.
“Israel’s efforts to censor media severely undermine the public’s right to information on a war that has upended so many lives in the region,” it said.
“media’s journalists must be allowed to report at this critical time, and always.”
In a brief statement on X, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it “denounces Israel’s relentless assault” on media. RSF had previously called for the repeal of an Israeli law that allows the government to shut down foreign media in Israel, “targeting media channel”.
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate denounced Israel’s “arbitrary military decision”, calling it “a new aggression against journalistic work and media outlets”.
‘Relentless assault’
“We call on the entities and institutions concerned with journalists’ rights to condemn this decision and stop its implementation,” the group said.
The Palestinian Authority said the Israeli operation against media in Ramallah was “a flagrant violation” of press freedom.
The media network, which is funded by the Qatari government, has also rejected accusations that it harmed Israel’s security as a “dangerous and ridiculous lie” that puts its journalists at risk.
Israeli Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi justified Sunday’s closure of media’s bureau, calling the network “the mouthpiece” of Gaza’s Hamas and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah.
“We will continue to fight the enemy channels and ensure the safety of our heroic fighters,” he said.
In a statement, however, the media Media Network said it “vehemently condemns and denounces this criminal act by the Israeli occupation forces”.
“media rejects the draconian actions, and the unfounded allegations presented by Israeli authorities to justify these illegal raids,” it said.
“The raid on the office and seizure of our equipment is not only an attack on media but an affront to press freedom and the very principles of journalism.”
Rami Khouri, a Middle East expert at the American University in Beirut, said the closure of media’s Ramallah office is in line with the policy of Israel since 1948, “which is to prevent real news about the Palestinians”.
“It probably means that there’s going to be a bigger onslaught… of Israeli violence all over the West Bank. And the primary instrument for informing the world about what Israel is doing is not going to be available to do it,” he said.
Mouin Rabbani, a non-resident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, said the decision to shut down media’s bureau in Ramallah shows that Israel “clearly has something very serious to hide”.
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