NUJ strongly condemns Israel's closure of Al Jazeera office in Ramallah
Soldiers conducted a raid on 22 September, seizing equipment and documents as they demanded the office shutdown.
On 22 September, Israeli soldiers entered Al jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah during a live broadcast and an order to the bureau chief demanded the newsroom cease its operations for 45 days. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)and Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) have called the action a “deliberate attack on media freedom and the public’s right to know”, noting it as a clear infringement of international law.
Shlomo Karhi, Israel’s communications minister, called the channel “the mouthpiece of Hamas and Hezbollah.” A statement issued by the Israeli military alleges the Al Jazeera office was used “to incite terror, to support terrorist activities.”
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said:
“The Israeli government’s targeted closure of Al Jazeera is a dangerous act clearly intended to silence truths and prevent journalists from carrying out their crucial work. The seizure of confidential documents is particularly alarming, as we know protecting sources will be of utmost priority to all journalists impacted by the raid.
“Israel’s brazen attacks on press freedom whether through the IDF's targeting of Palestinian journalists, the shutdown of news outlets, or the failure to allow foreign media to report on the ongoing war, must be denounced by all.”
Professor Chris Frost, NUJ Ethics council chair, said:
"Israel's actions demanding the closure of Al Jazeera's bureau in Palestine has rightly received widespread condemnation as an attack on both journalists and journalism.
"Despite committing no crime, journalists have yet again been targeted in efforts to prevent reporting about the war. We must continue to resist the Israeli government's pernicious attacks against journalists and the direct threats they pose to a free press."
Anthony Bellanger, IFJ general secretary, expressed full support from 600,000 media professionals represented by the IFJ across the world for Al Jazeera’s editorial staff in Ramallah.
He said:
“The policy of this Israeli government is to silence any voice that might contradict its official narrative. They have destroyed all the media in Gaza, targeted and killed journalists only because they were doing their job and now they want to wipe out the media in the occupied West Bank.
Bellanger added: “The international community must take action to put an end to the ongoing massacres of civilians and attacks on the media which are a clear violation of international and humanitarian law.”
The PJS said:
“This military decision is a new aggression against journalistic work and the media outlets that have been reporting the crimes against the Palestinian people …The PJS expresses its full solidarity with Al Jazeera’s journalists and puts its headquarters at the service of colleagues working at the channel.”