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AL JAZEERA FACES ‘SECURITY THREAT’ BAN AS ISRAEL PASSES NEW LAW
 
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Lorenzo Tondo
April 2, 2024
The Guardian
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_ Benjamin Netanyahu says after approval of bill he will ‘act
immediately … to stop channel’s activities’ _

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes the weekly cabinet
meeting at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 7, 2024.,
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool/File Photo

 

Israeli legislators have approved a bill paving the way for a ban on
Al Jazeera [[link removed]] and other
international news outlets perceived as posing a threat to security.

After the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu
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take prompt measures to force the end of Al Jazeera’s operations
within the country, parliament granted senior ministers authority to
shut down foreign news networks.

Netanyahu confirmed the decision on social media, declaring that the
Qatari satellite television station will no longer be aired in Israel
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under the new law.
“Al Jazeera will no longer be broadcast from Israel,” Netanyahu
wrote in a post on X after the law was approved in its final readings
on Monday. “I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new
law to stop the channel’s activity.”

Telecommunications minister, Shlomo Karhi, announced that the closure
of Al Jazeera was imminent.

Al Jazeera condemned Netanyahu’s remarks, calling them “a
dangerous and ridiculous lie” and saying they were the prime
minister’s justification “for the ongoing assault” on the media
network and press freedom. In a statement, the network vowed to
persist in its reporting with “boldness and professionalism”.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre expressed concern about the
ban.

“We believe in the freedom of the press. It is critical. It is
critically important, and the United States supports the critically
important work journalists do around the world, and that includes
those who are reporting on the conflict in Gaza,” Jean-Pierre told
reporters.

“So, we believe that work is important. The freedom of the press is
important. And if those reports are true, it is concerning to us.”

Al Jazeera, which has been fiercely critical of Israel’s military
operation in Gaza
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has previously accused Israel of systematically targeting its offices
and personnel.

Karhi accused Al Jazeera of encouraging hostilities against Israel.

“It is impossible to tolerate a media outlet, with press credentials
from the government press office and with offices in Israel, acting
from within against us, certainly in wartime,” he said.

This is not the first time Israel has threatened the use of emergency
regulations to crack down on Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel and
the occupied Palestinian territories.

In mid-October, Israel’s government approved wartime regulations
permitting the temporary closure of foreign media outlets that were
viewed as posing a threat to the nation’s interests.
At that time, Karhi said he anticipated that the measures would be
directed at Al Jazeera, which has been broadcasting live from Gaza
during theconflict with Israel.

Several press freedom organisations criticised the moves to close down
Al Jazeera and other media entities.

Israel has frequently clashed with Al Jazeera, which maintains offices
in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
In 2017, Israel vowed to expel Al Jazeera’s journalists, shut down
its offices and prevent it from broadcasting.

The then communications minister, Ayoob Kara, accused the network of
fostering violence, particularly in relation to issues concerning
al-Aqsa mosque.

In 2022, Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by
Israeli forces while reporting in Jenin, located in the occupied West
Bank.

In January, Al Jazeera accused Israel of the targeted killing of two
of its journalists in Gaza.
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Hamza Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria were killed while on assignment for
Al Jazeera, while a third freelancer, Hazem Rajab, was wounded.

Dahdouh was the eldest son of Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Gaza,
Wael Dahdouh,
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whose wife, two other children and a grandson were killed
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by a previous Israeli strike in October.

According to Reporters Without Borders, 103 Palestinian journalists
have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces since Hamas launched its
attack on Israel, sparking the war in Gaza.

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* Al Jazeera; Netanyahu; Journalists West Bank and Gaza;
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