On Sunday, April 5th, Netanyahu’s government voted to shut down Al Jazeera, close its offices in occupied Palestinian territories, and confiscate broadcast equipment, according to Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Palestine, Walid Al-Omari.
“The government headed by me unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X.
The closure will go into effect immediately, according to Israel’s Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi. It came a month after the Israeli parliament approved a bill allowing the temporary shutdown of foreign broadcasters, including Al Jazeera. The decision is valid for 45 days and could be renewed.
‘Israel’ has been inciting against the Qatar-based network, studying its closure as a result of Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the Israeli war on Gaza, accusing ‘Israel’ of committing a genocide in Gaza. The network accused Netanyahu of continuing a “frantic campaign” against it.
Al Jazeera is one of the last remaining international media networks reporting on Israel’s war on Gaza from the ground.
“Netanyahu could not find any justifications to offer the world for his ongoing attacks on Al Jazeera and Press Freedom except to present new lies and inflammatory slanders against the Network and the rights of its employees,” the network said in a statement.
“Al Jazeera holds the Israeli Prime Minister responsible for the safety of its staff and Network premises around the world, following his incitement and this false accusation in a disgraceful manner.”
Since October, Israeli occupation forces have killed, wounded and detained several Al Jazeera journalists reporting from Gaza.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the decision in a post on X, calling it “repressive legislation” aiming to “censor the channel for its coverage of the war in Gaza”.
Tim Dawson, the Deputy General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, condemned Israel’s closure of Al Jazeera, calling it “utterly retrograde and ridiculous.”
He stressed the contradiction in Israel’s actions, stating, “Closing down media, closing down television stations is the sort of thing despots do.” Dawson highlighted this move as part of a broader effort by the Israeli government to suppress free reporting of the war in Gaza.
He also expressed concern over the “beyond shocking” mortality rate among Palestinian journalists in Gaza as stating “Some 10 percent of them have lost their lives.”
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