By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – In a controversial move, Israel’s government shut down the operations of the Al Jazeera television network in the country, saying it was a mouthpiece of Hamas and a security threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the cabinet agreed to the closure while the war in Gaza is ongoing.
Police raided the Qatari broadcaster’s office at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem on Sunday. Al Jazeera called claims it was a threat to Israeli security a “dangerous and ridiculous lie.”
The network called the raid criminal”, charging that it “violates the human right to access information.” The channel also said it reserved the right to “pursue every legal step.”
Israel’s Communications Minister, Shlomo Karhi, confirmed equipment had been taken in the raid. Footage seen by Worthy News showed equipment being moved out of the building.
Soon after Sunday’s raid, screens showing Al Jazeera’s Arabic and English programs went blank as the channel went off-air in Israel.
The Israeli satellite service Yes displayed a message that read: “In accordance with the government decision, the Al Jazeera station’s broadcasts have been stopped in Israel.”
PARTIAL BLOCKAGE?
The blockage is effectively only partial, however, as the channel was still accessible Sunday through the social media platform Facebook in Israel.
Israel’s government said the order was initially valid for 45 days, with the possibility of an extension.
The shutdown does not apply to the Israeli-occupied West Bank or Gaza Strip, from which Al Jazeera still broadcasts live on Israel’s war with Hamas.
The decision came after Israel’s parliament last month voted overwhelmingly to pass a new national security law granting top ministers the power to ban broadcasts by foreign channels and close their offices if they are deemed a national security threat.
Shortly after the law was passed, Netanyahu singled out Al Jazeera, which bills itself as the “first independent news channel in the Arab world.”
Yet the Foreign Press Association in Israel said shutting down Al Jazeera in Israel was “a dark day for the media (and) a dark day for democracy,” and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate slammed the move as “a war crime.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna echoed the same concerns, saying: “The Israeli cabinet must allow Al Jazeera and all international media outlets to operate freely in Israel, especially during wartime.”
ANGERING GOVERNMENT
Al Jazeera has angered the government by accusing Israel of “deliberately” targeting its staff.
Journalists, including Hamza al-Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael al-Dahdouh, were allegedly killed by Israeli strikes. Israel denies targeting journalists.
For years, Israeli officials have accused the network of anti-Israeli bias.
Their criticisms of the broadcaster intensified since the October 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage.
Some 128 of those hostages are still unaccounted for, with at least 34 presumed dead, sources said.
At least 34,683 Palestinians have been killed and 78,018 injured in Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
However, those figures have been complex to verify independently. Additionally, the Hamas-linked officials do not differentiate between combatants and innocent civilians.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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