Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu announces closure of Al Jazeera office in the country

While talks on a possible truce are due to resume this Sunday, in which Qatar is one of the main mediators, the Jewish state is making a radical decision. The Israeli government believes Qatar’s Al Jazeera channel will be “closed in Israel within a few months,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Hebrew post on Network X, without further detailing the measures taken. The choice was “decided unanimously” by the government, he wrote.

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, for his part, confirmed on the same network that he “immediately signed an injunction against Al Jazeera,” which “takes immediate effect.” He added that he ensured that Al Jazeera “can no longer operate from Israel” after “months” of proceedings to ban it, and accused the channel of “a threat to the security” of the country.

In a statement quoted by Reuters, the Israeli government explains that the decision will lead to the closure of Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel, the confiscation of broadcast equipment, and the channel’s suppression and blocking by cable and satellite companies. his sites. According to the news agency, the law allows the prime minister and his security cabinet to close media offices for 45 days, a period that can be extended.

The procedure for the seizure of materials initiated

In any case, the government has already ordered the seizure of the channel’s equipment in the country. Shlomo Karhi signed and published on Sunday a seizure order directing the return of “equipment used to broadcast the channel’s content,” a list detailed that includes cameras, microphones, editing desks, computer servers, computers, transmission equipment and mobile phones. telephones.

Al Jazeera has already come under criticism from the Jewish state, and Hamas has a political office in Qatar. Benjamin Netanyahu previously accused him of being “the propaganda organ of Hamas and participating in the October 7 massacre.” The Israeli army has also repeatedly said that the outlet’s journalists were “terrorist agents” linked to the Palestinian Islamist movement and its ally Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip.

In early April, the Knesset already passed a law allowing the channel to be banned from broadcasting as part of an accelerated procedure at the request of the head of the Israeli government. In a broader sense, the text allowed for a ban on broadcasting in Israel of foreign media that undermined the security of the state.

Israel “violates” access to information, accuses channel

The Qatari channel, which intensively covers the conflict between Israel and Hamas, initially broadcast the information without further comment, only recalling that “the vote took place after the Knesset passed a law authorizing the temporary closure of foreign channels considered a threat to national security.” safety.

At the time, the channel’s bureau director for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Walid al-Omari, indicated to the channel that Israel’s decision included “the cessation of Al-Jazeera’s broadcasts in Israel in Arabic and English and the closure of the Al-Jazeera channel in Israel.” – “Jazeera” offices within the borders of Israel,” as well as “seizure of materials” and termination of access to the channel’s websites from Israel. “This decision was made after a campaign by (…) far-right ministers” of the Israeli government, he said.

In its statement, the channel sharply criticized Israel’s decision. “We condemn and condemn this criminal act by Israel, which violates the human right to access information,” Al Jazeera Arabic said in a report published on X.

Al Jazeera has in the past rejected accusations from the Israeli government, which it accused of systematically “targeting” its employees in the Gaza Strip. Since the war began on October 7, at least two Al Jazeera journalists have been killed there and the head of the Gaza bureau was wounded. Walid Omari, the channel’s Jerusalem bureau chief, said on Sunday that there had been more than 50 attacks on Al Jazeera journalists since October 7.

For its part, Hamas accused Israel of “blatant violation of press freedom” by seeking to “hide the truth” about the war in the Gaza Strip. In a statement published on Telegram, he condemned the “culmination of Israel’s war against journalists,” saying it was “a retaliatory measure against the role (…) played by Al Jazeera in covering the crimes of the Israeli army in the Palestinian enclave and in the occupied West Bank.

Is the truce under threat?

According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s national security cabinet was due to call a vote on the ban on Thursday, but the prime minister postponed it, a choice that would have been justified by a desire to avoid any negative impact on discussions going on over the ban. . a possible truce, in which Qatar, in particular, acts as a mediator.

Despite this short delay, the vote has already caused controversy within the Israeli government. Three ministers from the National Unity Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu’s rival Benny Gantz, considered the choice “the right decision, but at the wrong time” as it “could undermine efforts to complete negotiations” on the issue. agreement aimed, in particular, at the release of Israeli hostages still held in the Gaza Strip after October 7.

Al Jazeera also writes on its website that the decision “also threatens to escalate tensions with Qatar, which funds the media network.” (chain)as Doha plays a key role in mediation efforts to end the war in Gaza.”

Hopes that the agreement will be implemented look set to fade this Sunday, one way or another. Israel “cannot accept” Hamas’ demand that the truce plan include a permanent end to fighting in the Gaza Strip, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. In contrast, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh accused Israel of “sabotaging efforts” at mediation and “inventing constant justifications for continued aggression.”