Israel Shuts Down Local Al Jazeera Offices
The Israeli government shut down the local offices of satellite news network Al Jazeera on Sunday, a move described by critics as a “dark day for the media”.
As reported by The Guardian, Israeli officials said the move was justified because Al Jazeera was a threat to national security.
Posting on social media after the Cabinet unanimously voted to shut down the channel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “The incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel”.
Israel’s communications minister then signed orders to act immediately to close Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel, confiscate broadcast equipment, cut the channel off from cable and satellite companies and block its websites.
The Al Jazeera network, which is funded by Qatar, has been critical of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, where it has reported 24/7 throughout the seven-month war.
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Al Jazeera said the accusation that it threatened Israeli security was a “dangerous and ridiculous lie” that put its journalists at risk. It said in a statement:
Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act that violates human rights and the basic right to access information.
Al Jazeera affirms its right to continue to provide news and information to its global audiences.
The network has previously accused the Israeli authorities of deliberately targeting several of its journalists, a charge the latter has denied.
Some of the Al Jazeera journalists who have been killed in Gaza during the conflict are Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza Al-Dahdouh.
In April this year, Israel’s parliament ratified a law that allows for the temporary closure of foreign broadcasters considered a threat to national security.
The law allows Netanyahu and his security cabinet to shut Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel for 45 days, a period that can be renewed.
This means the suspension could stay in force until the end of July or until the end of major military operations in Gaza.
Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language service not only includes on-the-ground reporting of the war’s casualties but often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other militant groups in the region.
Qatar established Al Jazeera in 1996 to build influence around the Middle East and further afield. Interestingly, several Hamas political leaders are based in Qatar.
Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering Gaza to cover the conflict which has claimed the lives of more than 34,000 people, mostly women and children.
Israel invaded Gaza following Hamas attacks into southern Israel on 7 October 2023 in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
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