Israeli forces raided the offices of news broadcaster Al Jazeera in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, seizing equipment and initially ordering its closure for 45 days.
Armed Israeli soldiers entered the building during a live broadcast early Sunday morning.
The Israeli army said legal opinions and intelligence assessments had determined that the offices were being used to “incite terrorism” and “support terrorist activities” and that the channel’s broadcasts endangered Israel’s security.
Al Jazeera “strongly” condemned the closure and the “baseless allegations presented by the Israeli authorities to justify the illegal raids,” calling the move an “affront to press freedom.”
The Foreign Press Association said it was “deeply concerned” by the developments and called them a threat to press freedom.
“Restricting foreign journalists and closing news channels marks a departure from democratic values,” the group said.
Viewers watched as the army handed the blockade order to Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau chief Walid Al Omari, who read it live on air.
“Targeting journalists in this way is always about erasing the truth and preventing people from hearing it,” Al Omari said in comments reported by his employer.
Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Al-Safin said the soldiers confiscated the last of the microphones and cameras, which were on the street outside, and chased Omari out of his office.
Al-Safin posted about the raids on social media, saying the army also removed posters of Shireen Abu Akra, an Al Jazeera journalist who was killed while covering Israeli raids on the West Bank.
Broadcasters and witnesses at the time said the Palestinian-American journalist had been shot by Israeli troops. Israel initially claimed it was a Palestinian who shot her. But months later, Israel concluded it was “highly likely” that one of its soldiers had killed her.
Announcing the closure of the offices, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it and the Israeli Border Police had cooperated with civil authorities in carrying out an order signed by the commander of Central Command.
The offices have been sealed off and equipment confiscated, the IDF added.
Al Jazeera condemned the “harsh acts” and “repressive measures” but said they would not prevent the station from continuing to cover Gaza and the West Bank.
The media organisation said it would pursue all legal options through international legal bodies to protect its rights and those of journalists and citizens to information.
Relations between the Qatari-owned broadcaster and the Israeli government have long been tense but have deteriorated since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
Foreign journalists are barred from entering the Gaza Strip, so Al Jazeera staff based in the area are some of the few reporters able to cover the war on the ground.
The Israeli parliament passed a law in April giving the government the power to temporarily shut down foreign broadcasters deemed a threat to national security in times of war.
The bans, as revealed in Sunday’s raids, will be in place for 45 days at a time and may be renewed.
In early May, Al Jazeera’s offices in Nazareth and occupied East Jerusalem came under separate attack.