Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported this Sunday that his government has voted unanimously to close the local offices of the Qatari-owned television station Al Jazeera.
The announcement escalated long-running disputes between Israel and the channel at a time when ceasefire negotiations with Hamas — mediated by Qatar — were gaining momentum.
Netanyahu announced the decision on X, formerly Twitter, stating that “my government decided unanimously: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will close in Israel.”
Al Jazeera has flatly rejected its influence on violence against Israel.
Hours later, the main Israeli cable television company stopped broadcasting Al Jazeera.
The company, Hot, suspended Al Jazeera broadcasts in both English and Arabic.
“In compliance with the government’s decision, the Al Jazeera broadcaster has ceased in Israel,” says the message that appeared on the screens.
Al Jazeera’s websites, however, remained fully accessible in Israel, as did YouTube.
Afterwards, an operation was carried out against the television station’s facilities. “Inspectors from the Ministry of Communications, backed by the Israeli police, are currently raiding the offices of Al Jazeera in Jerusalem (East) and confiscating the channel’s equipment,” said Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi on his Twitter account. social network
The outlet’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar, had no immediate comment. A correspondent on Al Jazeera’s Arabic service said the order would affect the broadcaster’s operations in Israel and East Jerusalem, from where it has broadcast live images for months since the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
It would not affect Al Jazeera’s operations in the Palestinian territories, the correspondent said.
Another correspondent on the network’s English channel said the order prevented the television station from “having or using offices” in Israel.
Israeli media, for its part, said the cabinet vote allows Israel to block the channel’s operations in the country for 45 days, according to the decision. Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said in a video posted on X that the channel’s “equipment will be confiscated.”
The decision aggravated the long-running dispute between Israel and Al Jazeera. It also threatened to increase tensions with Qatar, the chain’s owner, at a time when the government in Doha plays a key role in mediation efforts to stop the war in Gaza.
Israel has long had a difficult relationship with Al Jazeera, which it accuses of providing biased coverage against it.
Al Jazeera is one of the few international media outlets that has continued in Gaza during the war, broadcasting bloody images of bombings and overwhelmed hospitals, and has accused Israel of committing massacres in the territory. Israel accuses Al Jazeera of collaborating with Hamas.
Al Jazeera, founded by the Qatari government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although Al Jazeera’s English channel often has programming similar to that of other major broadcasters, its Arabic channel often broadcasts video statements from Hamas and other armed groups in the region. It was also heavily criticized by the United States during the US occupation of Iraq following its 2003 invasion, which overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein.
It was unclear how Israel would implement its decision.
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– 2024-05-11 09:53:36
