By : Shrishti Mehra
Israel’s closure of a foreign news channel sets a precedent, with the country saying that the broadcaster acted as a Hamas propaganda tool.
On Sunday afternoon, Israel shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in the country and seized its communications equipment. The Qatari news station was then removed from the air in Israel after the government decided to temporarily prohibit it owing to worries that it had jeopardized national security.
Soon after the cabinet voted to prohibit the channel’s operation, it was no longer available on Yes and Hot, Israel’s two main TV providers.
Several internet service providers had stopped providing access to Al Jazeera’s Arabic and English websites as of Sunday night.
Meanwhile, police officials and communications ministry inspectors raided Al Jazeera’s Jerusalem offices to grab the channel’s broadcast equipment and secure the location.
The office of hardline Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who led the drive to close the station, circulated video of Israeli officials entering the premises and beginning to document the equipment inside.
The cabinet agreed decisively earlier on Sunday to allow Karhi to shut down Al Jazeera for 45 days, in accordance with a Knesset rule established in April allowing the temporary shutdown of international media outlets deemed to jeopardize national security.
Karhi issued four instructions shortly after the cabinet vote, instructing Israel’s television providers to discontinue broadcasting the Al Jazeera channel. He also ordered the closure of the network’s two Israeli offices, both in Jerusalem, the seizure of the channel’s broadcasting equipment, including telephones, and the prohibition of Israelis from accessing the Al Jazeera website.
Following the government decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Karhi’s office jointly released a press release in which Netanyahu stated, “Al Jazeera’s journalists have harmed Israeli security and incited against IDF soldiers.”
The leaders of the Mossad and Shin Bet voiced fear that the closure of the Qatari-backed channel might jeopardize negotiations for the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza, which is why the vote to close Al Jazeera was postponed until Thursday. Following its approval, the National Unity Party announced the decision. Qatar, home to Hamas leaders, is a significant stakeholder in the discussions. National Unity ministers refrained from voting on Sunday.
However, Karhi issued the directions immediately following the cabinet approval, stressing that Israel would not allow “megaphones for Hamas” to freely express themselves.
After approving the directives, Karhi declared, “Too much time has passed and too many needless legal obstacles have stood in the way of finally stopping the well-oiled incitement machine of Al Jazeera, which harms national security.”
“Those who use press freedom to harm Israeli security and IDF troops, and to incite terrorism during a time of war, will face immediate consequences,” the statement reads.
According to a news release, the minister made the decision after receiving supporting position documents and being convinced in accordance with the law. According to the law, the security services must present expert assessments stating that the specific channel poses a threat to national security.
Both Netanyahu and Karhi claim that Al Jazeera has jeopardized Israeli national security; however, the government has not made the underlying material available to the public.
Walid Omary, Al Jazeera’s head in Israel and the Palestinian territories, told Reuters that the network’s legal staff was formulating a reaction to the government decision, which he described as “dangerous” and motivated by political rather than professional considerations.
Following the decision, the station issued a statement calling it a “criminal” action by the Israeli government.
The channel declared, “We condemn and denounce this criminal act by Israel that violates the human right to access information.” It further declared that it would “pursue all available legal channels through international legal institutions” and asserted that “Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press violates international and humanitarian law, as it is perceived to be an attempt to hide its actions in the Gaza Strip.”
However, Al Jazeera is no stranger to controversy. They’ve always attacked non-Islamic countries. Al Jazeera has a decades-long agenda of undermining impartial journalism. It is inappropriate for any Islam-based media source to write disparagingly against non-Islamic countries or reveal their sensitive information.