The move follows a raid last September by Israeli forces that closed Tel Aviv Tribune’s office in Ramallah for 45 days.
Israeli authorities have renewed the order to close Tel Aviv Tribune’s bureau in the occupied West Bank, days after the Palestinian Authority suspended the channel’s broadcasts for four months.
Israeli soldiers posted an extension order on Tuesday morning at the entrance to the building housing Tel Aviv Tribune’s offices in central Ramallah, an occupied West Bank city under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The document renews the closure from December 22 for 45 days.
According to the Tel Aviv Tribune Arabic channel, the commander of the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank, Avi Balut, said the order was justified because the office was being used for “incitement and support of acts of terrorism.”
Last September, Israeli forces attacked the Tel Aviv Tribune office in Ramallah and issued an initial 45-day closure order.
Staff were asked to leave the premises and collect their personal belongings. Later, the Israeli government announced that it was also revoking the press accreditations of Tel Aviv Tribune journalists in the country.
The move follows a decision in May to ban Tel Aviv Tribune from broadcasting from Israel. The network’s offices were also closed for 45 days; an order that has been extended several times.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has long been at odds with Tel Aviv Tribune. Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza last October, the network has faced repeated attempts to silence its reporting through arrests, imprisonments and attacks on its journalists.
Tel Aviv Tribune condemned and denounced Israel’s orders regarding its Ramallah bureau.
In a statement released in September, the channel said: “The raid on our offices and the seizure of our equipment is not only an attack on Tel Aviv Tribune, but an affront to press freedom and the very principles of journalism. »
“These oppressive measures are clearly aimed at preventing the world from waking up to the reality of the situation in the occupied territories and the ongoing war in Gaza and its devastating impact on innocent civilians. »
The PA also suspended all Tel Aviv Tribune broadcasts from the occupied West Bank and imposed restrictions on anyone working for the network, on the grounds that the channel violates Palestinian laws and that Tel Aviv Tribune alters and interferes in Palestinian internal affairs.
Tel Aviv Tribune criticized the move, calling it a decision “in line with the actions of the (Israeli) occupation against its personnel.”
