Israeli army units raided media offices in the center of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank in the early hours of Saturday morning, seized equipment and documents for alleged “incitement,” according to WAFA news agency.

Reports said the forces broke into several media offices that work from Palmedia, a member of the Palestinian telecommunications group where they ransacked the offices and seized hard discs and other equipment.

Palmedia provides broadcast services to several media outlets, including Russia Today, al-Mayadin, al-Manar, and al-Quds news. Israeli forces searched and damaged properties in these offices, according to the sources.

An Israeli army spokesperson told Ma’an that Israeli forces had “seized media equipment and documents used for incitement” from a media office in Ramallah and that the raid was part of “ongoing efforts against incitement” in the West Bank.

Israeli authorities have a long history of restricting Palestinian freedom of expression through censoring social media activity and imprisoning journalists, activists, poets, and novelists.

Palestinian journalists can be held indefinitely without trial, and are often accused by Israeli authorities of inciting violence, cooperating with terrorist organizations, or posing a threat to Israel’s security.

“The Israel Defense Forces often violate the rights of Palestinian journalists and journalists of other nations, especially when they are covering demonstrations,” reads a statement on Reporters Without Border website.