Closure of Al Jazeera Bureau in Ramallah by Israeli Military: Press freedom under siege

The Israeli war against Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. It is the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008, and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War, in 1973.

Ever since the war against Hamas begun, various news channels have reported the happenings in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and innocent Palestinians highlighting the monumental suffering especially of women and children on the strip. The extent of destruction caused by the Israeli military could not have been known by the outside world but for the reportage of journalist who have risked their life to report from the front line.

Al Jazeera media network has heavily covered the ongoing war against Hamas both from the Gaza Strip and also bringing to bear the ramifications from Israel consequent on the war on Hamas. Such reports from international media houses including Al Jazeera have showcased to the world the real reactions from some Israelis regarding the war.

Israel is a democratic country and is supposed to adhere to the tenets of media pluralism but the war in Gaza has changed the dynamics regards press freedom. On April 2, 2024, a story titled "Israel: New law allows government to temporarily shut down Al Jazeera" highlited that on 1 April, the Israeli parliament passed a bill that grants the government the power to temporarily ban the broadcasting of international news outlets in Israel, if they are deemed threatening to national security. The story adds, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to act immediately to halt Al Jazeera’s operations in the country.

As a result of this, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urged the Israeli government not to shut down the Jerusalem bureau of Al Jazeera and to stop hiding under the cloak of "national security" to censor critical media. The IFJ is concerned at the government’s drift towards restricting press freedom and curtailing journalists’ capacities to operate in Israel, a worrying trend that has only escalated since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

What is even disturbing and at the same time very intriguing is a statement from the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X on 1st April, 2024, "The terrorist channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel. I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel’s activity,”. Accusing Al Jazeera of harming Israel’s security and actively participating in the 7 October massacre is a matter best known to the Netanyahu's government. To subsequently close down the Jerusalem bureau of Al Jazeera on the grounds of national security could be understandable since it's within their jurisdiction amd deemed threatening national security.

However unfair the closure of Al Jazeera in Jerusalem might be, I'm yet to hear apostles of democracy condemn the actions from the Israeli government. This hasn't broken the resolve of the media house to continue to report, painstakingly, now, Al Jazeera reports on the happenings in Israel arising from the war in Gaza from outside Israel.

As if the above sanctions against Al Jazeera wasn't enough, on Sunday, September 22, 2024, heavily armed Israeli soldiers raided Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and ordered the Doha-based news network to shut down operations amid a widening Israeli crack on media freedom.

According to news on Al Jazeera, armed and masked Israeli soldiers forcefully entered the building housing Al Jazeera’s bureau and handed the 45-day closure order to the network’s West Bank bureau chief, Walid al-Omari, early on Sunday, accusing the network of “incitement to and support of terrorism”.

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the de facto administrative capital of the State of Palestine. Thus, the Al Jazeera bureau in Ramallah isn't under the jurisdiction of Israeli laws. So, on what bases did the Israeli military raid the media house and order it's closure for 45 days? Is it that Al Jazeera is unearthing issues the Israeli government want to hide? What has the media house done to be tagged as inciting and supporting terrorism?

Suffice to posit that, is it because because the media house is seen as supporting terrorism that is why it's workers have been targeted? Reports suggest that four Al Jazeera journalists have been killed since the war in Gaza began, and the network’s office in the besieged territory was bombed. In total, 173 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October last year but, Israel claims it does not target journalists.

While the melee continues, some press groups have issued statements condemning the actions against Al Jazeera. While the Committee to Protect Journalists described the situation as “deeply alarmed”, it emphasizes “Israel’s efforts to censor Al Jazeera severely undermine the public’s right to information on a war that has upended so many lives in the region”. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on the other hand “denounces Israel’s relentless assault targeting Al Jazeera channel”. The RSF had previously called for the repeal of an Israeli law that allows the government to shut down foreign media in Israel.

This is “a new aggression against journalistic work and media outlets. We call on the entities and institutions concerned with journalists’ rights to condemn this decision and stop its implementation,” stated The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.

In all this, the Israeli government has the right to defend itself and all it's actions should be guided by international law. The level of devastation in Gaza - the human casualties, misery and suffering is worrying enough but, to order the closure of media house outside your jurisdiction needs much to be desired. Let the voices of democrats and the supporters of press freedom rise up to the ocassion and tell Israeli leaders to to halt their actions against the press especially, outside their jurisdiction.