West Bank - September 22, 2024

The raid and forced closure of Al Jazeera's Ramallah office by Israeli soldiers constitute a violation of press freedom and the human rights of journalists, said Walid al-Omari, the network's West Bank bureau chief.

In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Monday, the bureau chief recounted how heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers forcefully entered the building housing Al Jazeera's bureau and handed him a 45-day closure order early on Sunday.

He recalled that approximately 17 armed and masked soldiers broke into the office after midnight, forcing the staff out of the premises.

During the raid, which the bureau chief described as aggressive and destructive, staff were forcibly removed and kept at a distance while soldiers sealed the office with iron sheets and confiscated essential equipment.

Al-Omari readily denounced the Israeli actions in no uncertain terms.

The bureau chief also emphasized that Israel's brazen actions taken against Palestinian members of the press have exploded since the outbreak of the war.

Al Jazeera is one of the few international media outlets to remain in Gaza throughout the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, broadcasting bloody scenes of air attacks and overcrowded hospitals, and accusing Israel of massacres. Israel has accused Al Jazeera of bias against it and collaboration with Hamas. The Qatar-based network has repeatedly rejected the accusations.

Shotlist:
Ramallah, West Bank - Sept 22, 2024:
1. Various of vehicle moving in street;
2. Building with lights on;
Ramallah, West Bank - Sept 23, 2024
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Walid al-Omari, chief, Al Jazeera's West Bank bureau (starting with shot 2):
"I was there in the office when they broke into our office after 03:00, after midnight. A huge number of soldiers. One of my colleagues told me that he counted more than seventeen soldiers. Some of them were masked, hiding their faces. I don't know why. They have their weapons and you have them inside your office and they have orders, and telling you that you have to leave because they want to close the office.";
Ramallah, West Bank - Sept 22, 2024
4. Various of gate; reporters;
Ramallah, West Bank - Sept 23, 2024
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Walid al-Omari, chief, Al Jazeera's West Bank bureau (starting with shot 4/partially overlaid with shot 6):
"When they had finished what they did inside the office, and they closed the office -- we went to the office and they finished and they left -- we found that they closed the main door of the office with rusty iron blades, and fixed and soldered it with welding. It's a very bad and ugly picture to see your office closed in this way. And they have their papers in this iron plate. One of them is the order in Hebrew and the other three were about what they confiscated from the office. It was laptops, cameras and other documents.";
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
Ramallah, West Bank - Sept 22, 2024
6.Various of Walid al-Omari, chief of Al Jazeera's West Bank bureau, holding paper; people taking photos;
[SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE]
7. People in conversation, press jacket;
8. Signs of Al Jazeera;
Ramallah, West Bank - Sept 23, 2024
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Walid al-Omari, chief, Al Jazeera's West Bank bureau (starting with shot 8):
"What's happened yesterday, really, they violated the rights of the freedom of press, freedom of expression, freedom of life and the human rights for us and for the journalists everywhere, especially the Palestinians. Let me mention here something. Since the first day of this war on the seventh of October until now, it's 353 days. And this war is continuous. 174 Palestinian journalists, male and female, were killed by the Israeli fire in Gaza. Before this war, before the seventh of October, 104 Palestinian journalists were killed by the Israelis since the first day of the occupation in June 1967.";
Ramallah, West Bank - Sept 22, 2024
10. Various of building.

[Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]