In a significant escalation, the Israeli army raided Al Jazeera’s office in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Sunday, issuing an order for the bureau to close for 45 days. This comes months after Israel banned the Qatar-based news network from operating within its territory.

According to Al Jazeera’s report, heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers entered the office and delivered the closure order to the West Bank bureau chief, Walid al-Omari. No specific reason for the shutdown was provided.

The channel aired live footage of the Israeli troops storming the premises and handing over the military closure order before the broadcast was cut off, according to Reuters. A soldier could be heard saying, “There is a court ruling for closing down Al Jazeera for 45 days,” and ordering the staff to remove their equipment and vacate the office immediately.

In response to the raid, Al Jazeera strongly condemned the Israeli military’s actions, describing the closure as a “criminal act.” In a statement, the Qatar-based news network criticized the seizure of their equipment, calling it an attack on press freedom and a violation of journalistic principles. Al Jazeera stated, “The raid on the office and the seizure of our equipment is not only an attack on Al Jazeera but an affront to press freedom and the very principles of journalism.”

The Israeli military said on Sunday that the closure was ordered following a legal review and intelligence assessment, which concluded that the office was being used to promote terrorist activities. The military stated that Al Jazeera’s broadcasts posed a danger to public safety and national security, both in the West Bank and across Israel.

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate strongly condemned the Israeli decision, calling it an “arbitrary military action” that violates the rights of journalists reporting on the occupation’s actions against Palestinians. The Gaza Government Media Office also criticized the raid, calling it a “deafening scandal” and urged global media organizations and human rights groups to denounce this violation of press freedom.

This is not the first instance of such actions against Al Jazeera. In May, Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel that Al Jazeera used as an office, following the government’s decision to shut down the network’s local operations, claiming it posed a threat to national security.

Media rights groups have expressed concern over Israel’s increasing restrictions on journalists, especially Palestinian reporters in Gaza, amidst the ongoing conflict. Al Jazeera continues to highlight these growing concerns as the Israeli government faces international scrutiny for its actions against media personnel in conflict zones.