Palestine - September 2024

On 22 September, Israeli forces raided Al Jazeera’s office in Ramallah, seizing equipment and issuing a renewable 45-day suspension order. Although Ramallah is under the Palestinian Authority’s control in Area A of the occupied West Bank, the raid was carried out under a military closure order reportedly authorized by the head of the Israeli Defence Forces’ Central Command. This follows a law passed in April that empowers Israeli ministers to close foreign news outlets considered a "national security threat." In May, Israel then ordered Al Jazeera to cease operations within its territory, including the closure of its East Jerusalem bureau. Al Jazeera is one of the few international media outlets reporting from Gaza amid the ongoing war and has faced significant challenges since Israel first contemplated plans to shut it down in 2017. This has included the killing, intimidation and arrest of its journalists by Israeli forces, which intensified with the onset of the 2023 war in Gaza. The network condemned the Ramallah office raid and stated it would continue its coverage of Gaza and the occupied territories.

Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera (1), Al Jazeera (2), Haaretz, International IDEA (1), International IDEA (2)