Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet has decided to shut down the local operations of Al Jazeera Television in Israel for the duration of the war in Gaza, citing the Qatari television network as a threat to national security.
“The inciting channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Netanyahu announced on social networks after a unanimous vote in the government.
A government statement said Israel’s communications minister had signed orders to “act immediately”, but Al Jazeera could still try to challenge the decision in court.
The measure, according to the statement, will include the closure of Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel, the confiscation of broadcasting equipment, the disconnection of the channel by cable and satellite companies and the blocking of websites.
Al Jazeera is funded by the Qatari government and the television has criticized the Israeli military operation in Gaza, from where their journalists reported throughout the war. The Israeli statement made no mention of Al Jazeera’s operations in Gaza.
Israel’s parliament last month ratified a law allowing the temporary closure of foreign broadcasters in Israel deemed a threat to national security.
Al Jazeera previously rejected accusations that they were a threat to Israel’s security, and said the closure was an attempt to silence them.
The law allows Netanyahu and the security cabinet to close Al Jazeera in Israel for 45 days, but the decision can be renewed, so that the closure remains in effect until the end of July or until the end of major military operations in Gaza, RSE reports.
