Netanyahu closes Qatari news channel Al Jazeera

Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday that his government decided to close the Qatari news channel Al Jazeera in Israel, which he described as inciterand with which his administration has maintained a pulse for a long time, in what the station described as criminal decision what violates the right to informationand which was condemned by the United Nations (UN) and journalists’ groups.

Police raided the network’s offices in Jerusalem and confiscated all of its equipment. Al Jazeera was pulled from Israel’s major cable and satellite providers in the hours following the order. However, its website and multiple online streaming links remained operational and it continued operations in Gaza.

The government unanimously decided that the inciting channel Al Jazeera will be closed in IsraelNetanyahu posted on the social network X.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi stressed that the decision puts end to the television station’s well-oiled incitement machinereported the Israeli newspaper Hareetz.

Tel Aviv accuses Al Jazeera of bias and collaboration with Hamas, which the network (channel and website) rejects.

The network has reported continuously on the war between Israel and Hamas since the cross-border attack by Palestinian fighters on October 7, and has maintained 24-hour coverage in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s devastating ground offensive that He has killed and wounded members of his own staff. While it includes on-the-ground reports on war victims, its Arab arm often publishes verbatim video statements from Hamas and other armed groups in the region.

Al Jazeera reporters damaged Israel’s security and incited against soldiersNetanyahu commented in a statement. It’s time to remove the Hamas spokesman from our country.

Al Jazzera said in a statement released with a black background: Israel’s continued repression of the free press, seen as an attempt to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, contravene international and humanitarian law. Israel’s direct attacks and killings of journalists, arrests, intimidations and threats will not deter Al Jazeera from its coverage commitment, while more than 140 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza.

The television station rejected the accusations of Israeli authorities that suggest that media professional standards have been violated. Reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the values ​​incorporated in its code of ethics.

Al Jazeera statement. Photo from the social network X of the Qatari news channel

The head of the network for Israel and the Palestinian territories, Walid Al Omari, described the measure as dangerous and politicaland reported that the legal team is preparing a response to the closure decision.

In one of his reports from Ramallah, correspondent Zein Basravi asserted that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one of the main reasons why our network exists.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced the suspension and called on the Israeli government to reverse its decision.

Tim Dawson of the International Federation of Journalists called it Totally retrograde and ridiculous. Closing the media, closing television stations is something despots do.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents foreign media in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, stressed: With this decision, Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments that have banned this medium. This is a dark day for the press and for democracy.

The Palestinian Journalists Union called the Israeli ban a war crime. “This decision represents a great danger to the lives of journalists who work for both Al Jazeera and local and international media,” he stated.

Reporters Without Borders added that this is an attempt to silence reality.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, based in the United States, highlighted that this measure could set a dangerous precedent for other international media outlets working in Israel.

Last month the Israeli Parliament passed a law allowing temporary closure of foreign stations considered a threat to national securityinformation that the channel published along with a message from Netanyahu on X: Al Jazeera damaged Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7 massacre and incited against Israeli soldiers.