Israel Shuts Down Al Jazeera’s Operations in the Country

The Israeli government voted unanimously on Sunday to shut down the operations of Al Jazeera, a Qatar-based news network, in the country.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “Al Jazeera reporters harmed Israel’s security and incited against IDF soldiers. The time has come to eject Hamas’s mouthpiece from our country.”

Al Jazeera has reported on the Israel-Hamas war nonstop since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel and has been critical of Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Al Jazeera called the Israeli Cabinet’s decision a “criminal act that violates human rights and the basic right to access of information.”

“Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press, seen as an effort to conceal its actions in the Gaza Strip, stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law,” the network said. “Israel’s direct targeting and killing of journalists, arrests, intimidation and threats will not deter Al Jazeera from its commitment to cover.”

The network also said it “vehemently rejects the allegations presented by Israeli authorities suggesting professional media standards have been violated.” Al Jazeera vowed that it would “pursue all available legal institutions” in order to “protect both its rights and journalists, as well as the public’s right to information.”

The Foreign Press Association, a non-governmental organization representing international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, said in a statement that Israel has joined “a dubious club of authoritarian governments.”

The FPA concluded its statement by saying: “This is a dark day for the media. This is a dark day for democracy.”