6-5-2024 (TEL AVIV) In an unprecedented assault on press freedoms, Israeli authorities have shuttered the operations of Al Jazeera – the influential Qatar-based news network – within the Jewish state. The drastic move, approved by Cabinet last week, saw officials raid the broadcaster’s Jerusalem offices on Sunday, seizing equipment and blocking access to its channels and website nationwide.
Communications Ministry inspectors, flanked by police, descended on Al Jazeera’s premises to enforce the shutdown order. Minister Shlomo Karhi, a driving force behind the network’s expulsion, defiantly shared footage of the raid online showing officials cataloguing confiscated gear.
Al Jazeera condemned the “criminal act” as an egregious violation of rights, while the Foreign Press Association branded it “a dark day for democracy.” The latter voiced fears the hardline government may now target other international media deemed hostile.
The controversial decision underscores deepening rifts within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. While nationalist factions championed Al Jazeera’s ouster over its perceived pro-Hamas bias, ministers from Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party abstained, arguing the timing could jeopardise ceasefire talks brokered by mediator Qatar.
For months, the prospect of banishing the Arab world’s most influential broadcaster has loomed as Netanyahu’s administration, dominated by far-right and religious parties, sought to hit back against what it branded “false” and inflammatory Al Jazeera coverage during October’s deadly flareup with Palestinian militants in Gaza.
A new law passed in April grants the premier sweeping powers to revoke accreditation and operations of any foreign media outlet deemed “harmful to the country” on security advice. Actions can include closing offices, confiscating equipment and blocking broadcasts and websites.
“Al Jazeera harmed Israel’s security, actively participated in the October 7th massacre, and incited against our soldiers,” Netanyahu declared at the time. “It is time to remove the voice of Hamas from our country.”
The White House has voiced “concern” over the escalating clampdown, reiterating US support for press freedoms. But Israeli hardliners remain unmoved, emboldened by their new legal arsenal to dictate media narratives within the country’s borders.
