Israeli police invaded the office of Qatar-owned Al Jazeera television in occupied East Jerusalem and seized its equipment, shortly after the government decided to shut it down.
“Our inspectors, supported by the police, raided Al Jazeera offices in Jerusalem and confiscated its equipment,” far-right Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said on his X account.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Sunday that Al Jazeera’s operations within Israel will be halted.
Last month, Israel’s Knesset (parliament) approved legislation authorizing the closure of Al Jazeera television.
Under the legislation, the communications minister has the authority to shut down international networks operating in Israel and seize their equipment if the defense minister determines that their transmission poses “an actual harm to the state’s security.”
The Doha-based television station condemned the Israeli government’s move to close its headquarters as a “criminal act.”
“Ironically as the world marked World Press Freedom Day; the Israeli government closed Al Jazeera’s offices, preventing the public from accessing its content, disregarding the universally recognized fundamentals of freedom of expression,” according to a statement issued by the government.
The pan-Arab television pledged to use international legal avenues to safeguard its rights, journalists, and the public’s right to knowledge.
“Al Jazeera urges all media freedom, human rights, and other concerned organisations, to condemn the repeated attacks on journalists and the press by Israel, and to hold those responsible to account,” it added.
The ruling fueled Israel’s long-standing enmity with Al Jazeera. It also threatens to escalate tensions with Qatar, which owns the channel, at a time when the Doha government is playing an important role in mediation efforts to end the Gaza conflict.
Israel has long had a strained relationship with Al Jazeera, accusing the network of bias against it. Al Jazeera is one of the few international media channels that has remained in Gaza during the conflict, covering Israeli killings from the horrific scenes of air raids and overcrowded hospitals.
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