Israel Has Forced Al Jazeera To Shut Down In The Country For “Endangering National Security”
Since Oct. 7, the Qatar-owned outlet has been critical of Israel’s war on Gaza and has been providing crucial coverage on the ground.
Israel has forced Al Jazeera to shut down in the country for “endangering national security”.
Since Oct. 7, the Qatar-owned outlet has been critical of Israel’s war on Gaza and has been providing crucial coverage on the ground.
As a result, several of its journalists in Gaza have been targeted and killed by Israel, including its Gaza bureau chief Wael Al-Dahdouh’s son Hamza Al-Dahdouh and his cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa.
On Sunday, May 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Al Jazeera – which is the Middle East’s largest news network – to close in Israel.
He accused the news outlet of endangering national security and being a “mouthpiece for Hamas".
Israeli police then raided a hotel room that Al Jazeera was using as its office in Jerusalem and dismantled the equipment inside.
The move comes after the Israeli lawmakers passed a law in April that would allow the government to shut down foreign media outlets that are seen as a threat to national security.
Al Jazeera denied Israel's allegations and condemned the decision, calling it a "criminal act" that violates human rights.
It vowed to fight the ban through “all available legal channels”.
The Foreign Press Association in Israel described the move, which comes just two days after World Press Freedom Day, as “a dark day for democracy”.
