“Al Jazeera Condemns Netanyahu’s Push to Shut Down Operations in Israel Amid Conflict”
Al Jazeera has strongly criticized a new Israeli law that could result in the shutdown of its operations within Israel, alleging that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dissemination of falsehoods has endangered the safety of the media network’s journalists worldwide.
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Al Jazeera
As Israel’s conflict with Gaza approaches its six-month mark, the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, overwhelmingly approved legislation on Monday empowering the government to order the closure of foreign media outlets operating in Israel and seize their equipment if their content is deemed to pose a threat to national security.
Following the vote, Netanyahu announced his intention to promptly halt Al Jazeera’s activities in Israel, accusing the network of actively supporting Hamas’s attack on October 7 and of inciting against Israeli soldiers.
Al Jazeera Media Network denounced Netanyahu’s “reckless campaign” as a collection of “dangerous” and “absurd” falsehoods.
“Netanyahu has failed to provide any legitimate justifications for his continual assaults on Al Jazeera and press freedom, resorting instead to concocting new falsehoods and making inflammatory accusations against the network and its employees.”
In its statement, the Qatar-based news organization also condemned Netanyahu for making “inflammatory accusations against the network and its employees.”
“Al Jazeera reiterates that such baseless accusations will not deter us from continuing our courageous and professional reporting, and reserves the right to pursue all legal avenues,” it stated, while also holding the Israeli prime minister accountable for the safety of its personnel and facilities worldwide “following his incendiary remarks and baseless allegations in a shameful manner.”
Additionally, the network asserted that the law, which Israel has been advocating for since the outset of its nearly six-month-long conflict with Gaza, is “part of a series of systematic Israeli assaults aimed at silencing Al Jazeera.”
It referenced the 2022 killing of correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh while covering an Israeli military incursion in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin, as well as the deaths of journalists Samer Abudaqa and Hamza Dahdouh during the Gaza conflict, along with the “intentional targeting of several Al Jazeera journalists and their family members, as well as the arrest and harassment of its correspondents in the field.”
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), described the passage of the law as “extremely troubling.”
“It represents yet another instance of the Israeli government’s tightening grip on press freedom and the level of control it seeks to exert,” Ginsberg remarked in an interview with Al Jazeera.
“We’ve heard this kind of rhetoric from Netanyahu and Israeli officials before, where they attempt to portray journalists as terrorists or criminals,” Ginsberg added, addressing the prime minister’s comments. “This is not a new phenomenon.”
The CPJ reports that it has documented the deaths of at least 95 journalists since the beginning of the conflict.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre expressed concern over any Israeli effort to shut down Al Jazeera.
“The United States supports the crucial work of journalists worldwide, including those reporting on the Gaza conflict,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.
The law was passed as Netanyahu faces significant protests over his management of the Gaza conflict and the security lapses that failed to prevent Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel. Israeli authorities report that at least 1,139 individuals were killed in these attacks, with around 250 captives taken to Gaza.
According to health officials in Gaza, Israel’s conflict with Gaza has resulted in the deaths of at least 32,916 individuals, primarily children and women.
