The Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera condemned a Sunday raid by Israeli forces on its office in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and the issuing of a 45-day closure order, AFP reported.
The Qatar-funded channel said in a statement it "vehemently condemns and denounces this criminal act", adding the "raid on the office and 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 forces raided the bureau of media network early on Sunday morning, issuing it with a military order to shut down operations, the network and the Israeli military said on Sunday.
The Qatar-headquartered channel aired live footage of Israeli troops entering the office with their weapons drawn and handing a military court order to Ramallah bureau chief Walid al-Omari forcing the bureau to close for 45 days.
The Israeli military said, in response to a Reuters query, that the channel's offices had been sealed and its equipment confiscated.
The military added that the order was signed after an intelligence assessment determined that the offices were being used "to incite terror, to support terrorist activities."
"The channel's broadcasts endanger the security and public order in both the area and the State of Israel as a whole," the statement said.
Al Jazeera called the raid "a criminal act" and held the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the safety of its journalists, it said in a statement.
The network added that it would take legal action to protect it rights and promised to continue its coverage.
