Israeli forces raid Al Jazeera bureau in West Bank with closure order

CAIRO - Qatari Al Jazeera TV said on Sunday morning that Israeli forces stormed its bureau in the West Bank's Ramallah city with a military order to close it for 45 days.

The Qatar-based channel aired live footage of the Israeli troops storming the channel's office and handing over a military closure order to one of the Al Jazeera TV staff before the broadcast was disrupted.

In a statement, the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate condemned the Israeli move, saying "this arbitrary military decision is considered a new violation against journalistic and media works, which has been exposing the occupation’s crimes against the Palestinian people."

In May, Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office after the government decided to shut down the AL Jazeera TV station's local operations, saying it threatened national security. —Reuters