Media organisations slam Israel after cabinet shuts down Al Jazeera’s local offices
International media organisations and journalists Monday condemned the decision of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet to shut down the local operations of Qatari-owned TV station Al Jazeera.
The Israeli cabinet shut down the network a day ago for as long as its military offensive bombardment in Gaza continues, saying the outlet threatened national security.
Al Jazeera said the move was a “criminal action” and the accusation that the network threatened Israeli security was a “dangerous and ridiculous lie” that put its journalists at risk.
“The incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Netanyahu posted on social media following a unanimous cabinet vote.
A government statement said Israel’s communications minister signed orders to “act immediately”, but at least one lawmaker who supported the closure said Al Jazeera could still try to block it in court.
The measure, the statement said, includes closing Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel, confiscating broadcast equipment, cutting off the channel from cable and satellite companies and blocking its websites. It did not mention Al Jazeera’s Gaza operations.
Several international media organistions slammed the decision of the cabinet.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA) said Israel’s decision to shutter Al Jazeera should be a cause for concern for all supporters of free press.
“With this decision, Israel joins a dubious club of authoritarian governments to ban the station. And the government may not be done,” FPA said, adding that the Israeli premier had the authority to target other foreign media that he deemed to be “acting against the state”.
“We urge the government to reverse this harmful step and uphold its commitment to freedom of the press — including outlets whose coverage it may not like,” FPA said
“This is a dark day for the media. This is a dark day for democracy,” FPA added.
Reporters Without Borders condemned the “repressive legislation” and called for a repeal of the law passed by the cabinet.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s operations and warned that the vote could set a dangerous precedent for other international media outlets working in Israel.
“CPJ condemns the closure of Al Jazeera’s office in Israel and the blocking of the channel’s websites,” said CPJ Programme Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna in New York.
“This move sets an extremely alarming precedent for restricting international media outlets working in Israel. The Israeli cabinet must allow Al-Jazeera and all international media outlets to operate freely in Israel, especially during wartime.”
The UN Human Rights Office also criticised the closure.
“We regret cabinet decision to close Al Jazeera in Israel,” it said on X.
“A free and independent media is essential to ensuring transparency and accountability. Now, even more so given tight restrictions on reporting from Gaza. Freedom of expression is a key human right. We urge govt to overturn ban.”
“Regarding the closure of the Al Jazeera office in Israel,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s office, “we’ve made it clear that we stand firmly against any decision to roll back freedom of the press.”
“A free press provides an invaluable service to ensure that the public is informed and that the public is engaged,” he added.
International Federation of Journalists Deputy General Secretary Tim Dawson told Al Jazeera from London, that it was “utterly a retrograde and ridiculous decision”.
“Closing down media, closing down television stations is a sort of thing that despots do,” he said.
The media office in Gaza said that the closure of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel was a “scandal and a blatant violation of freedom of opinion and expression”.
According to Al Jazeera, it said the move would be a blow to the Israeli government as it “falsely praises democracy and human rights” but has shown it commits many violations.
“We condemn the shameful silence of many countries that consider themselves guardians of the world and human rights, while they are engaged in a war of genocide, and participate in the war to silence media professionals, journalists, and their media outlets.”
According to TRT, Human Rights Watch (HRW) also condemned the decision made by the Netanyahu government to close Al Jazeera.
“Al Jazeera’s offices have been bombed in Gaza. Their staff has been beaten in the West Bank. They’ve been killed in the West Bank and Gaza,” HRW’s Israel and Palestine director Omar Shakir said.
“Israel is trying to muzzle Al Jazeera. But precedent is larger and threatens to cover up Israeli atrocities in Gaza,” he said.
The German foreign ministry criticised the decision and said that a free and diverse press landscape was the cornerstone of every liberal democracy.
“In times of conflict especially, it is of crucial importance to protect the freedom of the press,” the foreign office said in a post on X.
“The decision of the Israeli authorities to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel is the wrong signal,” it added.
Israeli authorities raid Al Jazeera after shutdown order
Israeli authorities raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office after the government decided to shut down operations on Sunday, an Israeli official and an Al Jazeera source had told Reuters.
Video circulated online showed plainclothes officers dismantling camera equipment in a hotel room, which the Al Jazeera source said was in East Jerusalem.
The network had criticised Israel’s military operation in Gaza, from where it has reported throughout the bombardment.
There was no official comment from the Qatari government, which deferred to Al Jazeera.
The network last month complained of “a series of systematic Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera”.
It said Israel deliberately targeted and killed several of its journalists, including Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza AlDahdooh, both killed in Gaza during the conflict. Israel has said it does not target journalists.
Qatar established Al Jazeera in 1996 and viewed it as a way to bolster its global profile.
“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act that violates human rights and the basic right to access of information,” the network said in a statement.
“Al Jazeera affirms its right to continue to provide news and information to its global audiences.”
Israel’s parliament last month ratified a law allowing the temporary closure in Israel of foreign broadcasters considered to be a threat to national security.
The law allows Netanyahu and his security cabinet to shut the network’s offices in Israel for 45 days, a period that can be renewed, so it could stay in force until the end of July or until the end of major military operations in Gaza.
Qatar, where several Hamas political leaders are based, is trying to mediate a ceasefire and hostage release deal that could halt the Gaza bombardment.
Additional input from AFP.