In the early hours of Sunday morning, Israeli soldiers closed Tel Aviv Tribune’s office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, in an operation that included several violations.
So what exactly happened?
When the occupation soldiers arrived, they blew up the iron gate of the building and stormed it, then handed the office manager, Walid Al-Omari, a military order to close the office for 45 days.
The occupation forces confiscated all the equipment and documents in the Tel Aviv Tribune office, and sent trucks to confiscate and remove the filming and broadcasting equipment and documents from the channel’s office.
What violations accompanied the closure process?
The occupation forces prevented Tel Aviv Tribune’s Ramallah crew and colleagues Walid Al-Omari and Guevara Al-Badri from using their cars.
It also banned Al-Omari and Al-Badri from working on the streets of Ramallah and stopped the channel from broadcasting.
The office director said that the occupation soldiers tore up the picture of the late colleague Shireen Abu Akleh on the facade of the Ramallah office and vandalized its contents.
The occupation forces also fired tear gas bombs around the besieged Tel Aviv Tribune office and Al Manara roundabout.
What are the reactions?
In the first reaction to this event, the government media office in Gaza considered the occupation’s closure of Tel Aviv Tribune’s office in Ramallah and preventing it from working as a “barbaric decision and a scandal for the occupation,” and said it was “a crime and a violation of the law.”
On social media, activists denounced the Israeli occupation forces’ storming and closing of Tel Aviv Tribune’s office in Ramallah.
Some tweeters commented on the scene, saying, “This behavior is not strange for the occupation. This is how all tyrants and colonists fear a camera and microphone that conveys the truth of Israeli crime and aggression to the world.”
Activists pointed out that the Israeli occupation is always afraid of Tel Aviv Tribune’s voice and its coverage of events, saying: “First, they killed Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, then they killed the family of Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent in Gaza Wael Al Dahdouh, then they killed the channel’s photographer Samir Abu Daqqa, then they banned Tel Aviv Tribune’s coverage in Israel.”
Later, they killed Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul in Gaza, and now they have banned Tel Aviv Tribune in the West Bank.
How did Israel justify the operation?
Israel’s Army Radio reported that it was decided to close Tel Aviv Tribune’s office in Ramallah, because “its broadcasts harm state security.”
She added that the decision to close Tel Aviv Tribune’s office was taken in accordance with the directives of the political leadership and after legal advice.