‘Dark day for the media’: Israel raids Al Jazeera’s offices after banning broadcaster

Jerusalem: Israeli officials seized Al Jazeera instrumentality connected Sunday, hours aft the nation’s furniture approved a determination to shutter the Qatar-based TV quality network’s operations successful the Jewish authorities - an unprecedented measurement toward an planetary media outlet.

Inspectors from the communications ministry, accompanied by police, arrived astatine Al Jazeera offices successful Jerusalem, confiscated instrumentality and chopped disconnected access. Al Jazeera’s broadcasts and entree to its website person been blocked passim Israel.

Palestinian authorities expert Nehad Abu Ghoush broadcasting from wrong the network’s bureau successful the West Bank metropolis of Ramallah.Credit: AP

Shlomo Karhi, Israel’s communications minister, posted a video clip of the raid connected X, formerly Twitter, wherever the inspectors tin beryllium seen and heard naming the instrumentality they found.

Karhi has been a cardinal advocator for the termination of the network’s enactment wrong Israel. He’s besides called Kan, Israel’s nationalist broadcaster, biased and threatened to chopped its budgets.

Al Jazeera denounced Israel’s move, calling it a “criminal enactment that violates quality rights successful entree to information.” The Association for Civil Rights successful Israel (ACRI) has petitioned the determination to Israel’s Supreme Court.

“This is simply a acheronian time for the media and a acheronian time for democracy,” Israel’s Foreign Press Association said successful a statement. “Israel joins a dubious nine of authoritarian governments to prohibition the station.”

An Al Jazeera newsman speaking unrecorded from the network’s bureau successful the West Bank metropolis of Ramallah. Credit: AP

The relation expressed interest that Israel’s authorities “may not beryllium done” arsenic the premier curate present has the authorization to people different overseas media helium deems to beryllium “acting against the state”.

Several ministers from Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party abstained from Sunday’s ballot and criticised its timing, underlining escalating tensions betwixt the assorted factions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Gantz’s enactment said that portion it supports shutting down Qatari-owned Al Jazeera, Israel’s warfare furniture had agreed to postpone immoderate determination astatine the petition of information officials, including the caput of Mossad, to debar harming cease-fire dialog efforts present nether mode successful Egypt.

Israel and Hamas, done intermediaries, proceed to work toward a deal that would impact the merchandise of Israeli hostages held successful Gaza and Palestinian prisoners successful Israel. Qatar has been a ascendant mediator since the warfare successful Gaza broke retired pursuing Hamas’s October 7 attacks connected Israel.

The thought of shutting down the quality transmission has been circulating wrong Netanyahu’s cabinet, comprised mostly of hard-right, nationalist and Jewish Orthodox parties, since the aboriginal days of war.

Al Jazeera was blamed by Israel for what were termed mendacious reports that heavy relied connected what was thought to beryllium Hamas propaganda.

In precocious March, the transmission ran a communicative claiming that Israeli soldiers had raped and murdered women astatine Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital, which the Israel Defence Forces denied. It was aboriginal removed from each of Al Jazeera’s platforms.

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A instrumentality allowing overseas media outlets to beryllium shuttered successful Israel was approved by the nation’s parliament, the Knesset, successful aboriginal April. It would springiness Israel’s premier the powerfulness to instruct the communications ministry to enactment against immoderate overseas media entity deemed to beryllium “harming the country,” pending the sentiment of astatine slightest 1 information authoritative and the support of the furniture oregon information cabinet.

The media outlet tin past beryllium taxable to a scope of actions, including:

shutting down its offices successful Israel confiscation of broadcast instrumentality prevention of broadcasts by the channel’s reporters removal of the transmission from Israeli cablegram and outer companies blocking of its websites successful Israel.

“Al Jazeera harmed Israel’s security, actively participated successful the October 7 massacre, and incited against IDF soldiers,” Netanyahu said erstwhile the instrumentality was passed. “It is clip to region the dependable of Hamas from our country.”

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre criticised the determination astatine the clip arsenic “a concerning step.” The US supports the enactment of journalists astir the world, including those moving successful Gaza, she said.

Bloomberg

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