Israeli occupation forces attacked and shut down at least eight Palestinian media offices in pre-dawn raids on Wednesday, 18 October, as well as seizing 23 Palestinians in a series of home raids.
The offices of Pal Media, Trans Media, Ramsat and others in Ramallah, Nablus, al-Khalil and Bethlehem were attacked and ransacked by occupation forces who blocked the doors with metal barricades or barred them with iron gates, posting notices that the offices are closed by military order for the next six months.
The attack on Palestinian media is the latest step in the Israeli occupation war on Palestinian expression in the name of suppressing “incitement.” The media offices were attacked on the pretext of providing services to Palestinian TV channels that the Israeli occupation has also declared “unauthorized,” including Palestine Today, Al-Quds TV and Al-Aqsa TV.
The Israeli occupation military also declared its intention to turn over Palestinian media workers that continue to broadcast or work with the prohibited channels “to interrogation and detention.” The equipment inside the offices was ransacked and confiscated by invading military forces.
The offices of Al-Quds TV, Al-Aqsa TV and Palestine Today in al-Khalil were also directly attacked, raided and their belongings confiscated and forcibly closed. Amer al-Jaabari, the director of Trans Media, and his brother Ibrahim al-Jaabari, were among 23 Palestinians seized by Israeli occupation forces in overnight raids.
These attacks come as dozens of Palestinian journalists remain imprisoned, a number of them held without charge or trial under administrative detention. Hundreds of ordinary Palestinian citizens – including Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship – have been jailed for “incitement” for posting on social media, especially Facebook.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network denounces the ongoing attacks on Palestinian journalists, media organizations and radio and TV channels and urges broader international solidarity with imprisoned Palestinian journalists and forcibly closed media offices and channels to demand their freedom and an end to the institutionalized Israeli occupation repression that seeks to silence their voices.
