Jerusalem, May 5 (EFE).- The Israeli government decided unanimously on Sunday to shut down the broadcast of the Qatari channel Al Jazeera in Israel after the parliament passed a law last month allowing the closure of foreign media.
“The government headed by me unanimously decided: the incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X, without giving further details on when the decision will take effect.
In his message, Netanyahu thanked Israeli Minister of Communication, Shlomo Karhi, who promoted the law allowing the government to shut down the national broadcast of the news channel, one of the main sources of information on the Gaza war due to the large number of journalists it maintains in the enclave.
In a statement, the Israeli government said the order would be implemented “immediately.”
Authorities detailed that the decision included closing Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel, confiscating its broadcasting equipment, preventing transmissions, removing the channel from the country’s cable and satellite services, and blocking its website.
“Al Jazeera reporters harmed Israel’s security and incited against soldiers,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “It is time to remove the Hamas mouthpiece from our country.”
The so-called “Al Jazeera Law” grants the Israeli communications minister the power to order content providers, for a renewable period of 45 days, to cease their broadcasts from the country, in addition to closing their offices, confiscating their equipment, and blocking their website server.
According to the bill, the order to close a foreign news channel must be allowed for a judicial review in a district court, which must decide within 72 hours whether to modify or shorten the period of the order.
Obtaining first-hand information about what is happening in the Gaza Strip is difficult, as Israel prevents the entry of the international press into the devastated Palestinian enclave, where more than 34,000 people have already died.
Al Jazeera is one of the channels with the largest network of journalists in the strip. Since October, it has reported on hospital bombings, attacks on residential buildings, and the deaths of unarmed Gazans, which experts say could be considered war crimes.
In addition, several of its journalists, such as Hamza Wael Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuria, have lost their lives in Israeli bombings.
Other star correspondents like Wael Dahdouh have seen most of their family members die, including his eldest son and also a reporter, Hamza.
The “Al Jazeera Law” was passed on April 2. It allows the temporary blocking of any foreign media in Israel that “harms the security of the state.”
The Foreign Press Association (FPA) of Israel, which represents journalists covering the country and the Palestinian territories for foreign media, described the decision as a “brazen attempt to silence the media.”
It warned that the move had set a dangerous precedent that could lead to the closure of more outlets. EFE
jdg-ssk
