Israel clears way to shutter Al Jazeera, described by Netanyahu as a ‘terror channel’
Israel-Hamas
JOSEF FEDERMAN April 1, 2024
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to shut down Al Jazeeras operations in Israel, calling it a terror channel that spreads incitement, after the parliament passed a law clearing the way for the closure.
Netanyahus pledge escalated Israels long-running feud against Al Jazeera but also threatened to heighten tensions with Qatar, which owns the channel, at a time when the
Doha
government
there
is playing a key role in mediation efforts to halt the war in Gaza. Neither the Qatar
i government
nor the broadcaster immediately commented.
Israel has
long
had a rocky relationship with Al Jazeera, accusing it of unfair bias
against Israel
. Relations took a major downturn nearly two years ago, when Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was killed during an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian-American journalist was well-known across the Arab world for her critical coverage of Israel. The channel accused Israel of intentionally killing her. Israel denied the charge, saying she was likely killed by Israeli fire in what appeared to be an accidental shooting.
Those
Relations further deteriorated following the outbreak of Israels war against Hamas on Oct. 7, when the militant group carried out a cross-border attack
in southern Israel
that killed 1,200 people and took 250
others
hostage.
Al Jazeera reporter killed while covering Israeli raid in West Bank
In December, an Israeli strike killed an Al Jazeera cameraman as he reported on the war in southern Gaza. The channels bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh, was injured in the same attack.
The network also blamed Israel for killing Dahdouhs son in a strike in January. Hamza Dahdouh was working for Al Jazeera when the strike hit a car
in which
he was traveling, it reported. The army later said Hamza Dahdouh was a member of Islamic Jihad, a militant group that joined the Oct. 7 attack with Hamas.
Wael Dahdouhs wife, daughter
, another son and grandsonand another son
were killed
along with his grandson
in an
other
Israeli strike
inlast
October. The channel broadcast images of Dahdouh entering the hospital and giving way to grief as he peered over the body of his
dead
son. Israel has not said who the target of that strike was.
Al Jazeera is one of the few international media outlets to remain in Gaza throughout the war, broadcasting
bloody
scenes of airstrikes and overcrowded hospitals and accusing Israel of massacres. Israel accuses Al Jazeera of collaborating with Hamas.
Al Jazeera harmed Israels security, actively participated in the Oct. 7 massacre, and incited against Israeli soldiers. It is time to remove the bullhorn of Hamas from our country, Netanyahu posted
said
on X
, formerly Twitter
.
Al Jazeera America replaces chief as turmoil hits newsroom
He said he planned on acting immediately under the authorities of the newly passed law.
The terror channel Al Jazeera will no longer broadcast from Israel,
the prime ministerhe
said.
Al Jazeera has been closed or blocked by other Mideast governments, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Egypt has banned Al Jazeera since 2013. It launched the crackdown after
that year’sthe 2013
military overthrow of an elected but divisive government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood group. Egypt considers the Brotherhood a terrorist group and accused both Qatar and Al Jazeera of supporting it.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S. does not always agree with Al Jazeera’s coverage but respects its work.
We support the independent free press anywhere in the world, he said. And much of what we know about what has happened in Gaza is because of reporters who are there doing their jobs, including reporters from Al Jazeera.
Israel has
in the past
threatened to shutter Al Jazeera
beforebut never did so
. Mondays law did not immediately
close halt
the station
s Israeli operations
but
it
authorizes officials to do so after consultations and approval from legal and security officials. Any order would be valid
only
through July 31 or the end of the war in Gaza.
Israels communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, said he intend
sed
to move forward with the closure. He said Al Jazeera has been acting as a propaganda arm of Hamas by encouraging armed struggle against Israel.
Egypt releases Al Jazeera journalist detained since 2016
It is impossible to tolerate a media outlet, with press credentials from the government Press Office and offices in Israel, would act from within against us, certainly during wartime, he said.
His office said the order would seek to block the channels broadcasts in Israel and prevent it from operating in the country. The order would not apply to the West Bank or Gaza.
Al Jazeeras local bureau chief, Walid Al-Omari, said late Monday that the station had not heard from Israeli authorities.
But its clear its a question of time, and they will take the decision within days, he told the Associated Press.
But punishing the channel could be risky. Qatar has been acting as a chief mediator between Israel and Hamas. It helped broker and sponsor a weeklong cease-fire in November and has been hosting weeks of on-and-off talks aimed at brokering another pause in fighting.
By targeting Al Jazeera, Israel could be trying to push Qatar to put additional pressure on Hamas to make concessions; Netanyahu has
in the past
accused
DohaQatar
of not doing enough. But it also risks alienating Qatar, a wealthy, energy-rich Gulf state that is one of the few countries with influence over Hamas.
Israel has come under heavy criticism from press-freedom groups during the war. The Committee to Protect Journalists says 90 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the fighting, in addition to two Israeli journalists. Israel
also
has barred international journalists from entering Gaza independently to cover the war. The army has allowed small groups of journalists to enter Gaza on brief, highly controlled visits under military escort.
Palestinian officials say Israeli forces deliberately killed Al Jazeera reporter
Hagar Shechter, an attorney with the Ass
ociatio
n. for Civil Rights in Israel, said the law violates the right for free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of occupation and undermines separation of powers. She added that the group plans to file a petition against the law with Israels Supreme Court
against the law
.
Oren Persico, a staff writer at the Seventh Eye, an independent media watchdog website in Israel, said the law is
was
a watered-down version of legislation sought by the
countrys
far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, due to pushback from legal experts.
The closure
of Al Jazeeraneeds an expert opinion from requires
a
declaration from a
top security official
deemingthe that the
network
is
harming Israels security. The order would then need Cabinet or parliamentary approval and further approval from the courts.
Persico said
what is
most worrying
iswas
that other media, including Israeli outlets, could
also
be in the line of fire.
Whats important here isnt Al Jazeera; its about the authority that the government has to shut down media. Its a slippery slope, he said.
Federman writes for the Associated Press. AP correspondents Melanie Lidman and Jack Jeffery contributed to this report.
